Sabres Hope to be a Royal Pain Against the Kings

Buffalo Sabres (43-20-6) vs Los Angeles Kings (28-24-16)

Puck Drop: 4.00 pm ET | Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles

TV: MSG-B, ESPN+

Radio: WGR 550

Know Your Opponent

Los Angeles Kings

Record: 28-24-16 | 72 PTS

Last Game: Lost to Philly in a shootout, 4-3

Division Ranking: 4th in the Pacific Division

PP: 24th, 17.3% (Sabres: 17th, 20.3%)

PK: 29th, 75.5% (Sabres: 3rd, 83.3%)

What to Watch

1. Road Warriors

In his shutout win over San Jose, Alex Lyon became the fifth goaltender in NHL history to record a 10-game road winning streak. An amazing run for the first year Sabre. As a team, Buffalo extended their franchise-record road points streak to an even more impressive 12 games (11-0-1). This group just continues to dazzle us, as it feels like we have a few new heros every game. Two or three individuals eventually stand up to lead the Sabres to victory. Many times it’s a repeat hero, such as Rasmus Dahlin who is piling up the points lately. Or one of Lyon or Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, both of whom are playing out of their minds in net.

Elsewhere on the team, Mattias Samuelsson, Ryan McLeod, Jack Quinn, newcomer Sam Carrick, Beck Malenstyn and Zach Metsa have been real standouts too. But literally EVERYONE in this crew is contributing to all the winning. Players like Jason Zucker, Peyton Krebs, Josh Doan and Bowen Byram make their mark nearly every game too. I could list the entire playing roster down to the last man and even THAT player is contributing. They are united as one entity right now, and that entity is a BEHEMOTH CHARGING BUFFALO.

2. One Exception, TNT Has Cooled a Bit

Though he finally got back on the board against the Sharks, Tage Thompson has been mired in a cold spell. He went 14 periods without picking up a point before Thursday’s game. TNT even went shotless against Vegas, a rarity for the big man. Oddly enough, this comes directly after Tage had an 11 game point streak. Some of his recent struggles are probably attributed to line shuffling, as Thompson has been flanked by four different players during that time. Alex Tuch missed two games in that span and we have seen Peyton Krebs, Zach Benson and Noah Ostlund spend time as Big Parm’s wingers as well.

If the Sabres are going to fend off Tampa and take the division title, having Tage Thompson firing on all cylinders again will be imperative. The good news is that we all know how streaky of a player he can be. The goals and points should be right around the corner again soon.

Mar 3, 2026; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson (72) skates with the puck during the third period against the Vegas Golden Knights at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

3. Game Time!

Take note of the start time for this one, 4 pm in the eastern time zone. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen looks to get the nod in goal. He has been a key part of the Buffalo Sabres’ surge since the Olympic break, posting a strong 4-1-0 record in his five starts. UPL also picked up his first shutout of the season against Vegas in his last outing.

Elsewhere for Buffalo, Rasmus Dahlin has five points in his last five games (1-4). Artemi Panarin leads the Kings in points in his last five games with seven (2-5). The 34 year old has played pretty well for Los Angeles since coming over from the Rangers. He has 15 points in 12 games so far (4-11). For the Blue and Gold, Panarin will be one to keep an eye on.

The Kings’ special teams are not very special, ranked 24th on the power play and 29th in penalty killing. That is one of several areas the Sabres should have an advantage. Buffalo usually handles their business at even strength but they will need to generate more shots than the last game against the Sharks. You won’t always score 5 goals on just 16 shots.

Projected Lineups

Buffalo Sabres

Forwards

Benson – Thompson – Tuch
Ostlund – Norris – Doan
Zucker – McLeod – Quinn
Krebs – Carrick – Malenstyn

Defense

Samuelsson – Dahlin
Byram – Power
Stanley – Metsa

Goalies

Luukkonen, Lyon

Los Angeles Kings

Forwards

Panarin – Kopitar – Joseph
Moore – Byfield – Laferriere
Turcotte – Laughton – Wright
Malott – Helenius – Ward

Defense

Anderson – Doughty
Edmundson – Clarke
Dumoulin – Ceci

Goalies

Kuemper, Forsberg

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