Buffalo Sabres vs. San Jose Sharks Game Preview
11/23/24 at 8:00 pm at SAP Center in San Jose, CA
Record
Buffalo – 10-9-1 | 21 points – 4th place in the Atlantic Division
San Jose – 6-11-5 | 17 points – 8th place in the Pacific Division
Special Teams
Buffalo
Power Play – 18.0% (18th)
Penalty Kill – 79.4% (16th)
San Jose
Power Play – 17.7% (20th)
Penalty Kill - 81.3% (11th)
Top Scorers
Buffalo
Alex Tuch: 20 GP, 6 G, 14 A, 20 PTS
Tage Thompson: 16 GP, 11 G, 7 A, 18 PTS
Rasmus Dahlin: 20 GP, 5 G, 12 A, 17 PTS
San Jose
Mikael Granlund: 22 GP, 9 G, 15 A, 24 PTS
William Eklund: 21 GP, 4 G, 12 A, 16 PTS
Tyler Toffoli: 22 GP, 9 G, 6 A, 15 PTS
Starting Goalies
Buffalo – James Reimer (0-2-0, 4.50 GAA, .864 save %)
San Jose – MacKenzie Blackwood (4-6-3, 3.07 GAA, .904 save %)
Line Combinations and Pairings (used in Anaheim on Friday)
Buffalo
Forwards
JJ Peterka - Ryan McLeod - Alex Tuch
Zach Benson - Dylan Cozens - Sam Lafferty
Jason Zucker - Jiri Kulich - Jack Quinn
Beck Malenstyn - Peyton Krebs – Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Ex. Isak Rosen
Defense
Rasmus Dahlin - Bowen Byram
Owen Power - Henri Jokiharju
Jacob Bryson - Connor Clifton
Ex. Dennis Gilbert
Goaltenders
James Reimer
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Injuries
Tage Thompson (IR – lower-body)
Jordan Greenway (week – to - week – middle body)
Mattias Samuelsson (IR – lower body)
Notes
The Sabres have earned wins in each of their last four games against the Sharks, outscoring San Jose 18-7 in those games. A win in today’s game would give the Sabres their second winning streak of five or more games against the Sharks all-time and their first since Buffalo won eight straight games against San Jose from Feb. 13, 2010 to Nov. 18, 2014.
A five-game winning streak would be the Sabres second-longest winning streak against the Sharks. Buffalo’s .694-point percentage against San Jose is its highest against any NHL team. In 49 games against the Sharks, the Sabres have averaged 3.61 goals per game played, their second-highest mark against any NHL team all-time (Cleveland Barons, 4.15 G/ GP) and the highest among all active teams. In his last eight games,
Alex Tuch has posted 11 points (3+8), including at least one point and at least one assist in each of his last five games (2+6). An assist tonight would give Tuch a six-game assist streak, the second-longest assist streak of his career, behind only his seven-game assist streak from March 16 to 29, 2024. Any point in tonight’s game would give Tuch his fifth point streak of six or more games in his career, and his fourth since joining the Sabres.
Jason Zucker has notched one point in three consecutive games (2+1) and he has recorded one point in four straight road contests.
Rasmus Dahlin has notched 15 points (5+10) in his last 12 games.
JJ Peterka has registered eight points (3+5) in his last eight games.
In his last six games, Owen Power has tallied seven assists.
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