Pluses, minuses for Penguins-Sabres, Avalanche-Wild

NHL Network and ESPN analyst Kevin Weekes will offer his thoughts for big games each week throughout the season.

After a day with no hockey because of Thanksgiving, the NHL is back with 15 games, spread throughout the day, on Friday. That includes a doubleheader on TNT and MAX, beginning with the Pittsburgh Penguins (9-9-0) visiting the Buffalo Sabres (8-9-2) at KeyBank Center (6 p.m. ET) before the Colorado Avalanche (12-6-0) take on the Minnesota Wild (5-8-4) at Xcel Energy Center (8:30 p.m. ET).

Here's my breakdown of the games:

Penguins

Pluses: The Penguins played better at the start of November, winning their first five games, though they have lost three of their past four. Sidney Crosby has at least one point in 15 of 18 games this season, Evgeni Malkin is healthy and has 18 points (nine goals nine assists) in 18 games, and Erik Karlsson is fitting in nicely with 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) and an average ice time of 24:13 in 17 games.

Minuses: Their power play isn't great (13.7 percent, 25th in NHL), which is surprising based on their personnel and the handful of future Hall of Famers they have. They were also without forwards Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell, and defenseman Chad Ruhwedel in a 1-0 loss to the New York Rangers on Wednesday. Having three key players like that out for an extended period would be a test.

Sabres

Pluses: This will be a measuring stick for the Sabres, who are trying to end their lengthy playoff drought (last qualified in 2011). Rasmus Dahlin, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, has been really good. He has 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) in 19 games this season after breaking out with 73 points (15 goals, 58 assists) in 78 games last season. I'm not worried about their offense, which is struggling, because their top six scorers from last season (who each had at least 59 points) and top five goal-scorers (who each had at least 28 goals) remain with the team. Plus their penalty kill ranks in the top 10 in the NHL (85.7 percent, tied for sixth).

Minuses: Missing Tage Thompson, their top scorer from last season (47 goals, 94 points in 78 games), hurts. He has 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 16 games this season but is week to week with an upper-body injury. The Sabres have lost four of their past five (1-3-1), including 4-3 in overtime to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday, when they led 2-0 early and 3-2 late in the third period. Those are the games they have to find a way to win in order to stay in the hunt.

Avalanche

Pluses: Cale Makar has been downright dominant with 18 points (two goals, 16 assists) in his past eight games. Colorado's other two All-Stars in Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon continue to lead the team as well, with 25 and 23 points, respectively. Center Ryan Johansen has given the Avalanche some depth up front, and forwards Miles Wood and Ross Colton have added some grit. They don't look like the juggernaut they did in when they won the Cup in 2022, but they look very good and are still one of the top teams in the League.

Minuses: They're playing really well in all phases, but the one thing I would say is not to look past this game and this team. On paper, the Avalanche should win handily, but any team can win on any given day, so they need to get up for this one as they would if they were playing the Vegas Golden Knight or Dallas Stars.

Wild

Pluses: It's been a rough season so far, but what I do like is Marco Rossi on the top line with Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello. Rossi has 10 points (six goals, four assists) in 17 games this season, Zuccarello is leading Minnesota with 19 points (five goals, 14 assists), and Kaprizov is tied for second with 15 points (five goals, 10 assists). The Wild are not much different from last season, when they finished third in the Central Division with 103 points (46-25-11), so they can still dig their way out of this.

Minuses: The Wild have lost five straight (0-3-2), including both of their games in Stockholm as part of the 2023 NHL Global Series Sweden. Their penalty kill has been a huge problem, ranking last in the League (65.5 percent), they haven't been as good defensively as they need to be at 5-on-5, and their goalies haven't stolen any victories for them. I don't really know what their identity is right now. They're not defensive and they're not offensive. This game will not be an easy task, and we could potentially see changes in Minnesota if they don't win this one.