Game Preview | 5 things to know ahead of Sabres vs. Blackhawks

Dylan Cozens is considered day to day with an upper-body injury and will not be in the lineup for the Buffalo Sabres against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.

The Sabres will also be without forward Jeff Skinner and defenseman Mattias Samuelsson, both of whom remain day to day with upper-body injuries.

None of the three players have been ruled out for Saturday’s game against Tampa Bay. Skinner is expected to join the team on the ice for practice on Friday, coach Don Granato said.

The game against Chicago was rescheduled from Wednesday due to winter weather impacting the Buffalo area. Pregame coverage on MSG/MSG+ begins at 6:30 p.m. with Sabres legend Dominik Hasek scheduled to join Brian Duff and Martin Biron. The puck drops at 7.

Here are five things to know.

1.The lineup

Here’s how the group lined up for the morning skate in Cozens’ absence:

FORWARDS

9 Zach Benson – 72 Tage Thompson – 89 Alex Tuch

28 Zemgus Girgensons – 37 Casey Mittelstadt – 22 Jack Quinn

50 Eric Robinson – 19 Peyton Krebs – 77 JJ Peterka

71 Victor Olofsson – 12 Jordan Greenway – 21 Kyle Okposo

DEFENSEMEN

26 Rasmus Dahlin – 10 Henri Jokiharju

25 Owen Power – 6 Erik Johnson

33 Ryan Johnson – 75 Connor Clifton

GOALIES

1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

27 Devon Levi

2. Luukkonen’s run

Luukkonen will make his fourth straight start in goal after making 28 saves against San Jose on Monday for his second shutout of the season. The goaltender is 4-1-0 with a .950 save percentage (133 save on 140 shots) in his last five starts.

“If Upie’s playing like a No. 1, then he’s going to get the net more,” Granato said.

3. On the power play

With Cozens out, the Sabres switched up their power-play units for the morning skate.

Zach Benson moved to the top unit alongside Tage Thompson, Casey Mittelstadt, Alex Tuch, and Rasmus Dahlin.

The second unit consisted of Kyle Okposo, JJ Peterka, Jack Quinn, Victor Olofsson, and Owen Power.

4. Last time out

The Sabres are coming off a 3-0 win over the Sharks on Monday, their fourth victory in the last six games. Casey Mittelstadt scored a goal and added two assists to increase his team-leading point total to 38.

The Sabres have allowed a combined one goal in their last two contests, having previously lost 1-0 to the NHL’s highest-scoring team in the Vancouver Canucks on last Saturday. They are 8-for-8 on the penalty kill in their last three games.

“We want to make sure that continues,” Granato said. “We want to make sure we’re stingy back there.”

5. Scouting the Blackhawks

Chicago comes to town dealing with an extensive list of injuries to its forward group. Its list of absentees up front is headlined by leading scorer Connor Bedard – who is recovering from a fractured jaw – but also includes Taylor Hall, Nick Foligno, and Anthony Beauvillier, among others.

The Blackhawks managed to snap a three-game losing streak in spite of those absences with a shootout win over the Sharks on Sunday. Petr Mrazek made 37 saves.

The Sabres previously beat the Blackhawks 3-2 in Chicago on Nov. 19 behind a three-point game from Rasmus Dahlin and a 24-save performance from Luukkonen.