Season Series: The Penguins won 4-2 back on November 26th, dropping Buffalo to 29th place in the NHL with a 9-10-4 record. That wasn\u2019t quite rock bottom for the Sabres (they would lose 5-0 to NJ in the next game) but it was close. After tonight\u2019s game, Buffalo makes one more trip to Pittsburgh on March 5th to close out the three-game season series.<\/p>\n
Hidden Stat: Pittsburgh has points in five-straight road games (4-0-1) and are 7-1-1 in their last nine road games, per Pens PR.<\/p>\n
Getting to know the Sabres<\/p>\n
Peyton Krebs – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch<\/p>\n
Jason Zucker – Ryan McLeod – Jack Quinn<\/p>\n
Josh Doan – Noah Ostlund – Konsta Helenius<\/p>\n
Isak Rosen – Tyson Kozak – Brock Malenstyn<\/p>\n
Mattias Samuelsson \/ Rasmus Dahlin<\/p>\n
Zach Metsa \/ Jacob Bryson<\/p>\n
Goalies: Alex Lyon and Colten Ellis<\/p>\n
Potential scratches: Zach Benson, Jordan Greenway, Michael Kesselring<\/p>\n
Injured Reserve: Josh Norris, Justin Danforth, Jiri Kulich, Josh Dunne, Connor Timmins, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen<\/p>\n
Norris, who last played on Jan 14, was nearing a return. It remains unknown as of now if he\u2019ll be able to comeback for this last game before the break or if they will keep him to the side until afterwards.The break is coming at a good time for Buffalo, Benson and Greenway are also dealing with injuries and starting goalie Luukkonen unfortunately had to pull away from Team Finland due to his injury. Key to the game: Which offense comes through?<\/p>\n This game features the two hottest offenses since Christmas, with Pittsburgh and Buffalo tied at exactly 4.05 goals\/game<\/a>. The better question could be reversed for which defense and goaltending can stand up to those offenses but it does stand to reason that the winning team is going to need (at least) four goals tonight.<\/p>\n Another key will be the first period. The Penguins are tops in the NHL with 28 total goals in the first periods since Christmas, the Sabres aren\u2019t far behind with 26. Pittsburgh has been stingier by only allowing 11 first period goals, compared to 20 by Buffalo. A strong first is a great base to have for the rest of the game, the Penguins can\u2019t rest on that alone since Buffalo has been great in the second periods (outscoring opponents by a combined score of 26-13). As a result, the Sabres have only been trailing in one game out of their last 20 after the second period mark.<\/p>\n A troubling statistical outlook shows the Sabres as a team that gets stronger as the game goes along (29 third period goals). The third has been the weakest for the Pens, giving up 20 goals. This likely will not be a comfortable game if the Pens are clinging to a late lead, but that situation is often times better than the alternative.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/bufsab.jpg\"\/)
<\/a>The man dubbed the \u2018Lyon King\u2019 has been instrumental in Buffalo\u2019s turn of play. Alex Lyon is 11-1-0 with a 2.08 GAA and .930 save% since December 7th <\/a>when the Sabres started making their big turnaround. Ellis played on Tuesday against Tampa, so presumably the net will be Lyon\u2019s tonight.Many others, of course, have been stepping up too. Thompson has 36 points (17G+19A) in the last 28 games. Dahlin (10G+19A) has been amazing as well. McLeod (6G+20A) has been stacking up points. Tuch (13G+11A) in his last 27 is playing his way into a big ticket in his contract year.It\u2019s a big shame that Norris (who has played 8, 50, 56 and now 19 games this season) can\u2019t stay off the IR. His talent is right there but his availability has not allowed him to unlock it.<\/p>\n
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