Game Preview | 5 things to know ahead of Sabres at Flames

CALGARY – The Buffalo Sabres conclude their five-game road trip with a matchup with the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Sunday.

The Sabres are looking to rebound from an 8-3 loss in Edmonton on Thursday, which dropped them to 1-3-0 on the trip. They led 3-1 in that game before the Oilers scored six unanswered goals beginning late in the second period.

“In this league you’ve got to turn it page and turn it fast,” Sabres coach Don Granato said. “Obviously, we reviewed film and areas that we didn’t like, areas that we targeted we could be sharper in. You move into tonight’s game after that.”

Pregame coverage on MSG/MSG+ begins at 8:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 9. Radio coverage can be found on WGR 550.

Here are five things to know.

1. The standings

The Sabres sit eight points behind the Washington Capitals, who moved into the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with a 3-0 win over Winnipeg on Sunday afternoon.

Find a full breakdown of the race entering Sunday in Sabres.com’s wild card hub.

2. The lineup

Tyson Jost participated in an optional skate Sunday morning but will be out of the lineup after missing practice on Saturday for a maintenance day. Eric Robinson will join the lineup in his place.

Here is the full projected lineup based on Saturday’s practice:

FORWARDS

77 JJ Peterka – 72 Tage Thompson – 89 Alex Tuch

12 Jordan Greenway – 24 Dylan Cozens – 9 Zach Benson

50 Eric Robinson – 19 Peyton Krebs – 53 Jeff Skinner

13 Lukas Rousek – 28 Zemgus Girgensons – 71 Victor Olofsson

DEFENSEMEN

26 Rasmus Dahlin – 4 Bowen Byram

25 Owen Power – 10 Henri Jokiharju

78 Jacob Bryson – 75 Connor Clifton

GOALTENDER

1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

3. In the crease

Luukkonen is expected to make his 27th start in Buffalo’s last 31 games. He has allowed more than three goals in a game just twice in that span, including the loss in Edmonton on Thursday.

Sabres forward Alex Tuch said Saturday that the team felt it let its goaltender down with uncharacteristic defensive play down the stretch against the Oilers.

“We felt like we gave up on Upie there, so we’ve got to be better defensively going into tomorrow night’s game,” Tuch said.

4. Thompson, Tuch riding point streaks

Tuch and linemate Tage Thompson both enter Sunday riding four-game point streaks. Tuch has a goal and five assists in that span; Thompson has two goals and three assists.

“Tuch has been incredible,” Granato said. “Up and down and all over the rink, reading plays very well, positioning very well for pucks to come back to him. Tommer’s worked hard. He’s been physical where he needs to be and shooting more and looks a lot more like himself. So, those two in combination are pretty explosive when they’re on.”

5. Scouting the Flames

The Flames have changed extensively since they visited Buffalo in October, with the list of players who moved at or prior to the trade deadline including defensemen Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin, and Nikita Zadorov along with forwards Elias Lindholm and Tyler Toffoli.

Calgary has lost five of seven games since the deadline, including a 4-2 loss in Vancouver on Saturday night. Jakob Markstrom started in goal, lining up rookie Dustin Wolf as the expected starter against the Sabres.

Nazem Kadri leads the Flames with 59 points (23+36) in 69 games.