Sharpen Up | Sabres continue homestand with wins in 4 of last 6 games 

Happy Victory Tuesday, Sabres fans!

The Buffalo Sabres are coming off a 3-0 win over the San Jose Sharks on Monday, led by a 28-save performance by Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to earn the second shutout of his career and season.

Casey Mittelstadt, Alex Tuch, and Jordan Greenway scored in the win as the Sabres improved to 19-21-4 this season and 4-2-0 in 2024.

• READ: Luukkonen's 28-save shutout leads Sabres to victory over Sharks

Haven’t had the chance to see the team yet during its six-game homestand? Fans have two more chances to catch the Sabres live before they embark on a three-game road trip out west, followed by the All-Star break.

Buffalo hosts the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night and will sport its black and red third jersey for the eighth time this season.

Tickets for the game are available here.

The game will be exclusively televised on MSG/MSG+ within the Buffalo broadcast market with pregame coverage beginning at 7 p.m. 

Out-of-market fans can watch the game on TNT beginning at 7:30 p.m.

The Sabres will then close out their six-game homestand when they welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning to KeyBank Center for a Saturday matinee.

It will be the second meeting between the two teams this season after the Sabres defeated the Lightning 3-2 in overtime on Oct. 17 at home.

Saturday will also mark the return of Kids Takeover Day, which will see kids taking on roles such as junior reporter and in-arena host. Stay tuned to Sabres.com for more details on the day and follow along on social media to get a behind-the-scenes look at this special game day experience.

Secure your seats for Kids Takeover Day here. 

Saturday’s pregame show will kick off at noon on MSG/MSG+ with puck drop scheduled for 12:30 p.m.

ALL-STAR SKILLS VOTING

Rasmus Dahlin needs your vote to participate in the 2024 NHL All-Star Skills competition!

The NHL selected 10 players from its 44-man All-Star roster to participate in the skills competition while two players will be selected by fan vote.

The 2024 NHL All-Star Skills Fan Vote is open now through Thursday, Jan. 18 at 11:59 p.m. To cast your vote for the two remaining participants, visit sabres.com/vote or X (formerly known as Twitter).

For more information on this year’s skills competition, click here.

HEY NOW, YOU’RE AN ALL-STAR

Speaking of all-stars – Sabres prospects Jiri Kulich and Isak Rosen have been named to the North Division All-Star roster for the 2024 AHL All-Star Classic, which will be held in San Jose from Feb. 4-5.

The Rochester Americans forwards lead the Amerks with a combined 47 points in the 2023-24 campaign. Rosen leads the team with 24 points (9+15) in 29 games while Kulich is tied for second with 23 points (16+7) in 25 games after taking home bronze with Team Czechia at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship.

For more information on the AHL All-Star Classic, click here.

QUICK STORYLINES

• The Sabres have won four of six games in 2024 to start the new year off on a high note.
• Since Jan. 1, Buffalo’s penalty kill ranks seventh in the NHL after going 15-for-17 (88.2%) over its last six games.
• Mittelstadt has continued his production for the Sabres, leading the team with 38 points (12+26) in 44 games. Heading into Tuesday, Mittelstadt ranks 12th among all NHL skaters in even-strength points with 33 this season.
• Luukkonen is 4-1-0 in his last five starts with a .950 save percentage and 1.40 goals-against average. Since Dec. 30, 2023, Luukkonen ranks third in both save percentage and goals-against average among goalies who have played more than one game in that span.

SAVOIE’S MOOSE JAW DEBUT

After being traded from Wenatchee to Moose Jaw of the WHL in exchange for seven picks, Matt Savoie made his season debut for the Warriors on Saturday and made his presence known. The forward recorded a pair of goals and three assists to earn first-star honors in the Warriors’ 7-2 win over the Vancouver Giants.

Savoie has now tallied 29 points (13+16) and has posted a plus-13 rating in 12 WHL games.

Moose Jaw looks to extend its winning streak to three games when it hosts Lethbridge on Wednesday.

PHOTO GALLERIES

Check out photos from the homestand so far!

CONTENT CORNER

Watch as JJ Peterka, Jack Quinn, and Ryan Johnson take part in our annual SABAH skate at KeyBank Center before checking out our black and red hype video!