Buffalo takes on Dallas, who has the second-best record in the NHL.
The Buffalo Sabres are looking to set a franchise record with their 10th straight win in Dallas on New Year’s Eve against the Stars, but that task will be difficult against the club with the second-best record in the NHL (25-7-7). The Stars are in second place in the Central Division, and trail the Colorado Avalanche by eight points.
The Sabres held only an optional morning skate on Wednesday, but head coach Lindy Ruff provided an update on the injury status of goalie Alex Lyon, who faced only 18 shots in his seven straight win against St. Louis on Monday.
Do you have a status on Lyon and will Colten Ellis be activated from injured reserve?
Lyon's gone back to Buffalo to see our doctors and will be evaluated. We'll let our doctors take a look, and we know it's going to be a bit of time. Ellis (has been) activated.
How much of a role has depth played in the winning streak?
We've dealt with that the whole year, with a lot of players being out. Overall, we've done a good job with a lot of numbers, now we're got a shorter amount, although we added one with with Lyon going out of the lineup. We've tried to use the next man up, and it's an important opportunity for that next guy. I think we've seen players step up in a lot of different cases, and they got to continue to step up for us to continue winning hockey games.
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How has Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen handled being a backup to the red-hot Lyon?
You just look at his last couple games, he's played very well. I think he's found his game, and we know that in Lyon's absence, we've got Ellis that we believe can win games. We got full faith in UPL him winning hockey games for us.
How good is Dallas and what stands out about them?
They are a dangerous team, and if you give them high quality opportunities, they're a team that don't miss too often. They're a team that when they get good opportunities, they usually put in the back of the net. They have a dangerous power play. They've got a good team. I look at it, we've got two good teams going at it, another game that you can use to measure where you're at.
How do you look at the club having a chance at winning a franchise record 10 games in a row?
We're not worried about history. We're really worried about one game. We've been fairly focused on just the next game at hand, taking a look at what Dallas is really good at and what maybe we can try to take advantage of. We've spent no time talking about the previous games. We've done a great job of just trying to move on. If you look at the Eastern Conference, how tough it is and how close the teams are, how close it's going to be every night. Now we're coming to this side and playing a game against a team that's been a top team, we expect this to be a tough competition for us.
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