(WGR 550) – Back on Nov. 27, the New York Rangers were the No. 1 team in the NHL and the Buffalo Sabres skated out of Madison Square Garden with a 5-1 win.
A week-and-a-half later on Dec. 7, the Bruins were the No. 1 team in the NHL and the Sabres left Boston with a 3-1 victory.
Now on Friday, the Vegas Golden Knights are the No. 1 team in the NHL with a points percentage of .750, and have a date with the Sabres in Las Vegas.
Last season, the Sabres did win in Vegas, 3-2.
The Sabres are 2-1-1 in their last four games, but have only won five of their last 16 games. That means they’re further behind in the Eastern Conference, trailing the Carolina Hurricanes by six points for the last Wild Card playoff spot.
During Buffalo's 5-1 loss on Wednesday to the Colorado Avalanche, winger Jeff Skinner went backwards into the wall after taking a thundering check on from Nate MacKinnon. He originally came back for a bit, but later left the game and did not return.
Now Skinner is going to miss some time on Injured Reserve, which is why Brett Murray has been recalled from the Rochester Americans again and is back with the Sabres.
Buffalo is 26th in goal scoring this season, averaging 2.83 goals per-game. By losing Skinner, they lose their top goal scorer. He and JJ Peterka have 12 goals.
One of the many problems the Sabres have is many key players are just not producing.
Dylan Cozens hasn’t scored in 11 games, and has one goal in 20 games. Casey Mittelstadt has three goals in 20 games, and he doesn’t have an assist in eight games. He has just three points during that time. Tage Thompson has one goal in nine games, and Victor Olofsson has two goals in 14 games.
When your key people aren’t producing at all, you don’t win.
Buffalo only has power play goals in one out of nine games, and have gone 2-of-27 with the extra man. The Sabres are 26th in the NHL with a 13.6% conversion rate.
If head coach Don Granato continues with his goaltender rotation, Devon Levi will get the call in net. In his three games since returning from the Rochester Americans, Levi is 2-0-1 and has only allowed five goals on 86 shots.
The defending Stanley Cup champions are 20-5-5 this season, have won four-straight games and don’t have a regulation loss in nine games, going 6-0-3.
This is a team that’s ninth in the league in goal scoring, and No. 1 in the league with a 2.40 goals-against average. The Golden Knights' penalty kill is third in the league at 87.2%.
Jack Eichel is 16th in league scoring with 33 points, scoring 12 goals and registering 21 assists. Eichel has 13 points in his last eight games
Eichel’s linemate, Jonathan Marchessault, is 13th in the NHL with 14 goals.
With Aidan Hill injured, Logan Thompson has played in six out of seven games in goal for the Golden Knights. Overall this season, he is 9-3-3 with a 2.39 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage.
Join Brian Koziol and myself at 9 p.m. EST for pregame coverage on WGR.
