Buffalo Sabres – Pittsburgh Penguins Game Preview
1/17/25 – 7:00 pm EST at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY
Record
Buffalo – 17-22-5 | 39 points – 8th place in the Atlantic Division
Pittsburgh – 18-20-8 | 44 points – 7th place in the Metropolitan Division
Sabres center Ryan McLeod scored a hat trick in a 4-2 win over Carolina on Wednesday. Special Teams
Buffalo
Power Play – 17.6% (26th)
Penalty Kill – 78.8% (18th)
Pittsburgh
Power Play – 25.6% (6th)
Penalty Kill – 79.2% (16th)
Top Scorers
Buffalo
Tage Thompson: 39 GP, 19 G, 16 A, 35 PTS
Jason Zucker: 44 GP, 15 G, 18 A, 33 PTS
JJ Peterka: 42 GP, 10 G, 22 A, 32 PTS
Pittsburgh
Sidney Crosby: 46 GP, 12 G, 36 A, 48 PTS
Rickard Rakell: 46 GP, 22 G, 16 A, 38 PTS
Bryan Rust: 39 GP, 17 G, 17 A, 34 PTS
Starting Goalies
Buffalo – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (14-13-4, 2.99 GAA, .898 save %)
Pittsburgh – Alex Nedeljkovic (7-7-4, 3.40 GAA, .886 save %)
Line Combinations and Pairings
Buffalo
Forwards
Jason Zucker – Ryan McLeod - Tage Thompson
JJ Peterka - Dylan Cozens - Alex Tuch
Zach Benson - Peyton Krebs - Jack Quinn
Beck Malenstyn – Tyson Kozak - Sam Lafferty
Defense
Rasmus Dahlin - Bowen Byram
Owen Power - Henri Jokiharju
Mattias Samuelsson - Connor Clifton
Ex.: Jacob Bryson, Dennis Gilbert
Goaltenders
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
James Reimer
Injuries
Jordan Greenway (IR - middle body)
Jiri Kulich (IR – lower body)
Notes
The Sabres have earned at least one point in three straight games against the Penguins (2-0-1). Buffalo has earned at least one point in eight of its last 10 games against Pittsburgh (5-2-3). The Sabres have recorded more than 30 shots in eight consecutive games against the Penguins, the longest active streak against Pittsburgh of any NHL team.
Ryan McLeod has registered six points (4+2) in his last three games, including a hat trick on Jan. 15 vs. Carolina. McLeod is one point away from 100 in his career. In his last three games against the Penguins, McLeod has registered three points (2+1)
Rasmus Dahlin has recorded 12 assists in his last 10 games.
JJ Peterka has posted 14 points (2+12) in his last 14 games, including six assists in his last six games.
Jack Quinn has tallied three goals in his last three games.
In his last 11 games, Jason Zucker has recorded 12 points (7+5). Zucker has recorded five points (1+4) in his last four games against Pittsburgh.
Tage Thompson has posted 10 points (3+7) in his last 10 games. In his last seven games against Pittsburgh, Thompson has notched seven points (4+3).
Alex Tuch has notched four points (2+2) in his last four games. Tuch has recorded five points (1+4) in his last three games against Pittsburgh, including at least one point in each game in that span.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has made 30 or more saves in four consecutive games against Pittsburgh, the longest such active streak against Pittsburgh of any NHL goaltender.
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