What Is The Plan For The Sabres Going Forward? 12/31/24 – 8:00 pm EST at American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX Record Buffalo – 14-19-4 | 32 points – 8th place in the Atlantic Division Dallas – 21-13-1 | 43 points – 4th place in the Central Division Special Teams Buffalo Power Play – 16.0% (26th) Penalty Kill – 78.0% (20th) Dallas Power Play – 15.4% (27th) Penalty Kill – 75.8% (25th) Top Scorers Buffalo Tage Thompson: 32 GP, 18 G, 11 A, 29 PTS Alex Tuch: 37 GP, 12 G, 16 A, 28 PTS JJ Peterka: 35 GP, 10 G, 16 A, 26 PTS Dallas Matt Duchene: 35 GP, 14 G, 19 A, 33 PTS Mason Marchment: 33 GP, 12 G, 15 A, 27 PTS Jamie Benn: 35 GP, 8 G, 17 A, 25 PTS Starting Goalies Buffalo – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (11-11-3, 2.95 GAA, .898 save %) Dallas – Jake Oettinger (17-9-1, 2.38 GAA, .909 save %) Line Combinations and Pairings Buffalo Forwards Jason Zucker – Tage Thompson - Alex Tuch JJ Peterka - Dylan Cozens - Jack Quinn Zach Benson - Jiri Kulich - Peyton Krebs Beck Malenstyn - Ryan McLeod - Sam Lafferty Ex. Nicolas Aube-Kubel Defense Rasmus Dahlin - Bowen Byram Mattias Samuelsson - Owen Power Jacob Bryson - Connor Clifton Ex., Henri Jokiharju, Dennis Gilbert Goaltenders Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen James Reimer Injuries Jordan Greenway (out - middle body) Notes Buffalo is riding a three-game winning streak, tied for the team’s longest of the season. The Sabres have recorded 17 goals in that span, the most by the Sabres during a three-game winning streak since they recorded 18 goals in three straight wins from Oct. 29 to Nov. 2, 2022. Rasmus Dahlin has recorded seven assists in his last three games, including at least one assist in each of the games in that span. Jack Quinn has recorded eight points (4+4) in his last six games and he has posted two points in three consecutive games. A multi-point performance would make Quinn the first Sabres skater since Dylan Cozens from Nov. 30 to Dec. 7 (four games; 4+7) to record a multipoint streak of four or more games. JJ Peterka has posted eight points (2+6) in his last seven games, including five points (1+4) in his last five road contests. Jiri Kulich has tallied five points (3+2) in his last five games. Dylan Cozens has registered six points (2+4) in his last six games. In his last four games, Jason Zucker has recorded four points (2+2). Zucker has posted nine points (3+6) in his last nine games against Dallas, including one point in each of his last two games against the Stars (1+1). Owen Power has recorded four assists in his last two games against Dallas, including at least one assist in each of those games. In his last seven games against the Stars, Tage Thompson has registered nine points (3+6). Alex Tuch has posted at least one point in back-to-back games against the Stars and he has recorded three points (2+1) in that span. Lindy Ruff coached the Stars for four seasons (2013 to 2017) and compiled a 165-122-41 regular-season record in 328 games. Follow Michael on X, Instagram, and Bluesky @MikeInBuffalo [https://twitter.com/MikeInBuffalo]
