Buffalo Sabres - Pittsburgh Penguins Game Preview
2/5/26 - 7:00pm at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY
Buffalo – 32-18-6 | - 70 points – 4th place in the Atlantic Division
Pittsburgh – 28-15-12 | - 68 points – 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division
Special Teams
Buffalo
Power Play – 20.1% (16th)
Penalty Kill – 82.1% (9th)
Pittsburgh
Power Play – 26.4% (3rd)
Penalty Kill - 84.2% (3rd)
Top Scorers
Buffalo
Tage Thompson: 56 GP, 29 G, 29 A, 58 PTS
Alex Tuch: 55 GP, 22 G, 26 A, 48 PTS
Rasmus Dahlin: 52 GP, 11 G, 36 A, 47 PTS
Pittsburgh
Sidney Crosby: 55 GP, 27 G, 32 A, 59 PTS
Evgeni Malkin: 40 GP, 13 G, 30 A, 43 PTS
Anthony Mantha: 55 GP, 20 G, 21 A, 41 PTS
Starting Goalies(projected)
Buffalo – Alex Lyon (14-7-3, 2.66 GAA, .914 Sv %)
Pittsburgh – Stuart Skinner (19-12-5, 2.79 GAA, .890 Sv%)
Other Sabres Stories
Sabres Line Combinations and Pairings (projected)
Forwards
Jason Zucker - Tage Thompson - Alex Tuch
Josh Doan - Ryan McLeod - Jack Quinn
Konsta Helenius - Peyton Krebs - Noah Ostlund
Isak Rosen - Tyson Kozak - Beck Malenstyn
Ex. Jordan Greenway,
Defense
Mattias Samuelsson - Rasmus Dahlin
Bowen Byram - Owen Power
Zach Metsa -. Michael Kesselring
Ex. Jacob Bryson
Goaltenders
Alex Lyon
Colten Ellis
Injuries
Justin Danforth (lower body, Oct. 18; injured reserve)
Jiri Kulich (blood clot, Nov. 4; injured reserve)
Conor Timmins (broken leg, Dec. 20; injured reserve)
Josh Dunne (mid-body, Jan. 14; injured reserve)
Josh Norris (ribs, Jan. 16, week-to-week)
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (lower-body, Jan 29, injured reserve)
Zach Benson (upper-body, Feb 3, day-to-day)
Notes
With a win tonight, Buffalo would have 22 wins in a 28-game span for the first time in franchise history. The Sabres have recorded at least one point in 23 of their last 27 games (21-4-2), including wins in five of their last six games. Their 21 wins and 44 points in that span (since Dec. 9) were the most among all NHL teams entering play on Wednesday.
The Sabres have allowed just 2.52 goals per game in that span, the third-fewest among all NHL teams entering play on Wednesday. Buffalo has not lost consecutive games in regulation since the team fell in three straight from Dec. 3 at Philadelphia to Dec. 8 at Calgary.
Mattias Samuelsson has posted 12 points (4+8) in his last 12 games.
In his last 14 contests, Jack Quinn has recorded 14 points (5+9). Quinn has registered an assist in back-to-back contests.
Ryan McLeod has recorded 18 points (4+14) in his last 16 games, including at least one assist in two straight matchups.
Alex Tuch has tallied seven points (5+2) in his last six games.
Rasmus Dahlin has recorded 18 points (7+11) in his last 13 games, including at least one point in six straight games and at least one assist in each of his last five. Dahlin would match the second-longest point streak of his career (seven games; Nov. 5 to 20, 2024; 4+6) with a point in tonight’s game. With an assist tonight, Dahlin would match the longest assist streak of his career (six games; twice). With his two assists on Feb. 2 at Florida, Dahlin (312 assists) surpassed Don Luce and gained sole possession of seventh place all-time in franchise history. Dahlin is currently tied with Rick Martin for the sixth-most assists in franchise history.
Tage Thompson has recorded 37 points (17+20) in his last 31 games, including 27 points (11+16) in his last 21 games. Thompson is riding a three-game point streak (1+2) and a point tonight would mark his fifth point streak of four or more games this season.
Josh Doan has tallied at least one point in back-to-back games, including a goal in each. A goal tonight would mark the second-longest goal streak of his career, trailing only his four-game goal streak from Dec. 31, 2025 to Jan. 8, 2026 (4+1).
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