Sabres vs. Penguins | How to watch, lineup notes, and storylines

The Buffalo Sabres can move further up the standings in their final game before the Olympic break against the Pittsburgh Penguins at KeyBank Center on Thursday.

A win would send Buffalo – currently in the first wild card spot – into the break in second place in the Atlantic Division by virtue of tiebreakers over both Montreal and Detroit.

The Sabres are 1-1-1 in their last three games, all of which were tightly contested, playoff-like contests against Atlantic Division opponents. They came within 30 seconds of winning their most recent game, a 4-3 overtime loss to division-leading Tampa Bay.

While Thursday’s game offers a reprieve from divisional play, the Penguins come to town as yet another Eastern Conference playoff contender who’s been hot of late. They won six straight games to end January before dropping their last two, both by one goal.

Here’s what you need to know before puck drop.

How to watch

TV (Sabres broadcast market): MSG (Pregame coverage begins at 6:30 p.m.)

Streaming: Gotham Sports App, ESPN+ (out of market)

Radio: WGR 550 / Buffalo Sabres App

More ways to watch/listen to Sabres games

Lineup notes

The Sabres played Tuesday without forward Zach Benson, who sustained an upper-body injury the night prior in Florida. Coach Lindy Ruff said Benson was scheduled to be evaluated by team doctors on Wednesday.

Konsta Helenius, after being scratched in Florida, reentered the lineup in place of Benson in Tampa and had three hits, a blocked shot and the drawn penalty that led to Josh Doan’s go-ahead goal in the third period.

Josh Norris could also be an option at forward. Norris, out since mid-January with an upper-body injury, has been practicing with the team since last weekend and has not been ruled out for a return before the break.

Stay tuned for potential updates on Benson, Norris and more when Ruff meets with the media following the team’s 10:30 a.m. morning skate.

Olympic Sendoff

The Sabres will hold a pregame ceremony honoring their two participating Olympians, Rasmus Dahlin (Sweden) and Tage Thompson (United States). Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was originally selected to play for Finland but will miss the tournament with an upper-body injury.

The Penguins, meanwhile, have four Olympians on their roster: forward Sidney Crosby (Canada), goaltender Arturs Silovs (Latvia), defenseman Erik Karlsson (Sweden) and forward Rickard Rakell (Sweden).

Numbers to know

• Dahlin enters the game on a six-game point streak, during which he has four goals and seven assists.
• Dahlin’s next assist will move him ahead of Rick Martin for sole possession of sixth place on the all-time franchise list, with 314.
• Josh Doan has scored a goal in each of the last two games.
• Mattias Samuelsson is coming off a two-goal performance in Tampa, upping his season total to 11. He’s the only NHL defenseman with 10-plus goals and 90-plus hits this season.

Scouting the Penguins

While Crosby remains atop the team leaderboard, the new-look Penguins have benefited from offensive contributions throughout their lineup of late.

Egor Chinakhov was acquired in a trade on Dec. 29. After spending the last two seasons toiling in Columbus, the 25-year-old winger leads Pittsburgh with eight goals since making his team debut on Jan. 1.

Anthony Mantha, meanwhile, has six goals and 11 points in the last eight games.

And, while the team’s third-ranked power play has gone cold of late, the penalty kill has allowed just two goals on 37 tries dating back to Jan. 13. The Penguins are 7-3-3 in the span.