Sabres Hope to End Losing Streak Against 2022 Stanley Cup Champions
The Buffalo Sabres will take on the Colorado Avalanche at the KeyBank Center at 7 p.m. EST. This game will be the first of a five-game home stand for Buffalo, who has a 6-6-1 home record, while Colorado has a 6-5-0 away record. The players are well-rested as each team played their last game on November 30th. The Sabres and Avalanche are on the outside looking in on their respective conference’s playoff picture; Buffalo is three points out of a Wild Card spot while Colorado is two points out, making this a huge game for both teams.
Mittelstadt Returns to Buffalo
Sabres’ general manager Kevyn Adams made a big move at the 2024 trade deadline when he sent Casey Mittelstadt to the Avalanche. Mittelstadt was drafted eighth overall by the Sabres in 2017 and played 339 games for the team before being dealt to the Avalanche for Bowen Byram. In Mittelstadt’s first game back in Buffalo since calling Denver his new home, he’s in the midst of an up-and-down season. In October, he scored six goals to go along with 13 points in 11 games. However, in November’s 14 games, his play came to a screeching halt, scoring just a single goal with four assists. The Eden Prairie, Minnesota native will try to snap his six-game scoreless streak against his former team, which would mark his first NHL point since turning 26.
MacKinnon, Mikko and Makar
The top three scorers on the Avalanche are Nathan MacKinnon, last season’s Hart Trophy winner, with 36 points; Mikko Rantanen, a back-to-back 100-point scorer, with 34 points; and Cale Makar, the only defenseman in the NHL to finish top-three in Norris Trophy voting in the previous four seasons, with 32 points. Meanwhile, the top three scorers for the Sabres are Alex Tuch with 22, Rasmus Dahlin with 19, and Tage Thompson with 18 points. This final score will represent who wins between Colorado’s elite offense and the Sabres’ defense and goaltending, which has been on a hot stretch. Byram, Dahlin’s presumptive partner at the blue line, will have extra motivation to play shutdown defense tonight. Also, Thompson could be a game-breaker as he is still looking to secure his first points since coming back from injured reserve.
UPL vs. Georgiev
To say that the goaltending has been a letdown for the Avalanche is a massive understatement. The only saving grace for Avs fans is that Alexander Georgiev will be a free agent after this season. Georgiev has objectively cost his team wins, currently sitting at a .875 save percentage and 3.31 goals-against average with a -9.8 goals-saved above average, according to Hockey Reference. This is a complete contrast to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who’s coming off of a fantastic month for the Sabres. Luukkonen was a brick wall in net with a .926 save percentage and 1.94 goals-against average and will be looking to continue his stellar season in net. The six-foot-five, 217-pound netminder will have his work cut out for him in this game; however, since he has to stop one of the top offenses in the entire league.
