Sabres at Penguins | How to watch, lineup notes, and storylines

After closing out Tuesday’s 3-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights, the Buffalo Sabres spoke proudly of their growth since last season, their learning how to win tough games. Buffalo surged ahead 3-0, Vegas scored two quick ones, then the Sabres held onto their one-goal lead for the final 31 minutes.

The Sabres have already matched their 2024-25 win total at 36-19-6, second place in the Atlantic Division, and they can surpass it when they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday at 7 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena.

“I think it's been on-the-job training, really,” coach Lindy Ruff said Tuesday after his team’s fourth straight win. “We've been through a lot, we've learned a lot. I think the best way of learning is going through some hardship, and we went through some hardship. I look at a lot of situations last year that told us we had to be a better team, we had to have more composure.”

Here’s a glimpse of the Sabres’ improvement through 61 games.

To summarize, this year’s Sabres are playing from ahead more and defending those leads better than last year’s, and even on nights when they’re outplayed, they’re still finding ways to win.

“It’s just all in the guys. We’ve been working hard and doing the right things, is really what it comes down to,” said goalie Alex Lyon. “It’s been awesome, but we’ve got still, realistically, a quarter of the season to go. So, it’s nice, now we have to buckle down and continue to find a sustainable way to play.”

On Thursday, they’ll look for an answer to the Penguins, who’ve won both matchups in regulation but are now without Sidney Crosby due to an Olympic injury.

Here’s everything else you need to know before puck drop.

How to watch

TV (national): ESPN

Streaming: ESPN app

Radio: WGR 550 / Buffalo Sabres App

More ways to watch/listen to Sabres games

Lineup notes

The Sabres didn’t practice Wednesday, so check back after the 11:30 a.m. morning skate for potential updates on the starting goalie and the rest of the lineup.

If the recent goalie rotation continues, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen figures to get the start. In two post-Olympic games, both on the road, he’s gone 2-0-0 with a .955 save percentage and just three goals allowed.

Notable numbers

• The Sabres are 4-2-1 in nationally televised games this season.
• Buffalo leads the league with nine players with 30-plus points.
• The Sabres are 25-5-2 since Dec. 9, the best 32-game stretch in franchise history. They and the Avalanche are the only teams to win 25 of 32 games at any point this season.
• Buffalo has 30 regulation wins, third most in the league. That's the first standings tiebreaker after points.
• Tage Thompson is riding an eight-game point streak (5+4). His 33 goals are tied for seventh most in the NHL, and his 28 even-strength goals are second behind only Nathan MacKinnon (33).
• Rasmus Dahlin is up to 53 points (12+41), seventh most among NHL defensemen.
• Mattias Samuelsson has been on the ice for 67 Sabres goals at 5-on-5. Only Colorado’s star forwards, MacKinnon and Martin Necas, have been on the ice for more of their team's 5-on-5 goals.

Scouting the Penguins

Crosby’s lower-body injury, sustained in Canada's Olympic quarterfinal game versus Czechia, will sideline him for at least another few weeks. Absent its captain, the Penguins have gone 2-1-1 since the break, most recently losing 2-1 in Boston on Tuesday.

After Crosby, their leading scorer is 39-year-old Evgeni Malkin, who’s got 47 points (13+34) in 45 games. And first-year Penguins forward Anthony Mantha (21+24) is on pace for the best season of his career.

With 75 points, the Penguins are currently lined up for a first-round matchup with the Islanders. Columbus (70 points) and Washington (69) are their biggest threats to a playoff berth in the Metropolitan Division.

The Sabres lost 4-2 in Pittsburgh on Nov. 26 and 5-2 at home on Feb. 5. The Penguins are the only Eastern Conference team Buffalo has yet to collect a point against this season.