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

The Buffalo Sabres will look to snap their three-game winless streak (0-1-2) when they host the Seattle Kraken at KeyBank Center on Saturday.

The Sabres are coming off a 5-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings at home on Friday, their first regulation loss in more than two weeks. They controlled play to start the game before early penalties allowed the Red Wings to seize momentum and take a 2-0 lead.

The slow start was symptomatic of two uncharacteristic issues that have affected the Sabres on their current winless skid: early deficits and penalty trouble, both of which were topics of conversation postgame.

The Sabres have fallen behind early in their last two losses and have allowed a combined 12 power plays against in their last three games.

“Tomorrow is going to show what type of team we are,” captain Rasmus Dahlin said. “We have to show ourselves that we’ve got to dig ourselves out of this. This is unacceptable.”

The Sabres are still in great position despite the mini-slump, with 96 points and a magic number of 11 to officially clinch a playoff berth. Find a full playoff outlook along with Saturday’s schedule here.

The puck drops tonight at 5:30 p.m. Here’s what you need to know in the meantime.

How to watch

TV (Sabres broadcast market): MSG (Pregame coverage begins at 5 p.m.)

Streaming: Gotham Sports App

Radio: WGR 550 / Buffalo Sabres App

More ways to watch/listen to Sabres games

Lineup notes

The Sabres were without forward Noah Ostlund on Friday due to an upper-body injury. Ostlund did participate in the team’s morning skate on Friday and is considered day to day, so stay tuned for Lindy Ruff’s media availability (scheduled for 3:30 p.m.) for a potential update on the rookie’s status.

It will be Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s turn in the goalie rotation. Luukkonen has a .923 save percentage in his last 11 games dating back to Jan. 19.

Numbers to

• The Sabres have not lost consecutive games in regulation since the team fell in three straight from Dec. 3 in Philadelphia to Dec. 9 in Calgary. 
• The Sabres have excelled in the second games of back-to-back sets this season, with a 7-1-3 record in those situations. 
• Tage Thompson has scored goals in consecutive games and has upped his season total to 37. He's three shy of becoming the fifth player in Sabres history with three 40-goal seasons, joining Rick Martin (5), Gilbert Perreault (3), Pat LaFontaine (3) and Danny Gare (3).
• Dahlin is three assists shy of tying Rene Robert (330) for fifth place on the Sabres' all-time list.

Scouting the Kraken

The Kraken are fighting for position in the Western Conference playoff race, currently three points back from Nashville for the second wild card spot with a game in hand.

Seattle helped its cause (and the Sabres) with a 4-3 overtime win in Tampa on Thursday, which snapped a four-game winless streak. Brandon Montour scored twice in the game, including the winner.

Bobby McMann, the power forward acquired from Toronto at the trade deadline, has six goals in seven games since joining Seattle, a necessary jolt given the current absence of forward Jared McCann (day to day with a lower-body injury).

Philip Grubauer started the Kraken’s last game in net, stopping 30 of 33 shots in the win over the Lightning. Joey Daccord had started the previous three games.