Game Preview | 5 things to know ahead of Sabres at Rangers

NEW YORK – Mattias Samuelsson was on the ice with the Buffalo Sabres for their morning skate at Madison Square Garden on Monday and is considered a game-time decision for their meeting with the New York Rangers, coach Don Granato said.

Samuelsson sustained an upper-body injury during the first period of Buffalo’s loss in New Jersey on Saturday and did not return.

“Samuelsson looks good,” Granato siad. “It will be obviously a game-time decision, but he looked good all the way through, so good news.”

Coverage on MSG/MSG+ begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7.

Here are five things to know.

1. The lineup

Granato said Henri Jokiharju will be back in the lineup on defense after sitting out of the game in New Jersey, meaning another player will have to exit the lineup in the event Samuelsson plays.

“We’ll have a decision to make if that’s the case and we’ll make it then,” Granato said.

Here’s how the Sabres lined up during the morning skate, with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen working in the visiting net as the expected starter.

Forwards

53 Jeff Skinner – 37 Casey Mittelstadt – 89 Alex Tuch

9 Zach Benson – 24 Dylan Cozens – 77 JJ Peterka

63 Isak Rosen – 17 Tyson Jost – 71 Victor Olofsson

20 Jiri Kulich – 19 Peyton Krebs – 21 Kyle Okposo

Defensemen

26 Rasmus Dahlin – 23 Mattias Samuelsson

25 Owen Power – 33 Ryan Johnson

75 Connor Clifton – 6 Erik Johnson

78 Jacob Bryson – 10 Henri Jokiharju

Goaltenders

1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

31 Eric Comrie

27 Devon Levi

2. UPL’s consistent play

Luukkonen has a .938 save percentage in his last four starts, including a 31-save victory in his most recent outing against Pittsburgh on Friday. His season save percentage of .914 ranks 10th among NHL goaltenders with at least 10 games played.

Granato attributed Luukkonen’s consistency to his ability to make the most of his experiences, with parts of four NHL seasons now under his belt.

“He works at it hard every day to absorb as much as he can, gain as much experience, and he works to apply it,” Granato said. “That reduces stress. … He’s still young, he’s still pretty raw, but he’s much, much better day by day."

3. Kulich, Rosen reflect on debuts

Jiri Kulich and Isak Rosen have had mirroring career paths since both arrived in Rochester as rookies last season. The two first-round picks both had dynamic rookie campaigns that got better as the year went on, both spent the summer getting stronger, and both have been among the AHL’s leading scorers to begin this season while taking steps in their defensive games.

They were seated next to each other inside the Rochester dressing room after a win on Friday when they learned they would take the next step together, too. Amerks coach Seth Appert announced to the team that both players had been recalled to Buffalo, a moment captured in the video below.

Kulich and Rosen even got to share their rookie solo lap ahead of their debut in New Jersey.

“It was special,” Rosen said Monday. “It was hard to take in, actually. It almost [came] a little bit yesterday, when you were thinking about it, reflecting a little bit.”

“That was like a dream,” added Kulich.

Rosen and Kulich have developed a strong friendship while pushing each other competitively – be it in practice or the shooting room. It’s all been geared toward the shared goal of playing in the NHL, which has made the past weekend all the more special.

“I think we push each other to be better every day because we have the game goal and just want to reach it, and we want to reach it together,” Rosen said.

4. Last time out

The Sabres are looking to rebound from a 7-2 loss in New Jersey in which they were outshot 38-12 by a Devils team that was highly motivated on the heels of six losses in their previous seven games. The loss snapped a three-game point streak for the Sabres (2-0-1).

Sabres captain Kyle Okposo said postgame that the team’s ongoing objective is to capture a confident, aggressive demeanor on a consistent basis. They achieved as much the night prior, scoring three unanswered goals during a dominant third period to defeat the Penguins.

“You have to bring a game that is going to be competitive every single night and it’s not an easy thing to do, especially when you have the expectations that you have,” Okposo said Saturday. “It’s part of growing up, it’s part of becoming a mature group, but we’ll get there. I have full confidence in the guys we have in this group and the guys we have on this team."

5. Scouting the Rangers

The Rangers have been one of the NHL’s best teams this season, ranked first in average goals against (2.32), tied for ninth in average goals scored (3.42), and in the league’s top seven on both the power play (3rd) and penalty kill (7th).

It’s all added up to a 15-3-1 record that has New York tied with Boston atop the Eastern Conference standings. The Rangers defeated the Bruins 7-4 on Saturday, led by a two-goal outing from forward Chris Kreider.

“This is a great hockey team today, obviously,” Granato said. “Very good, very effective. … They’ll pressure hard and then back off to pick pucks off. They’re very skilled.”

Kreider leads the Rangers with 13 goals while Artemi Panarin has a team-high 29 points (11+18). Igor Shesterkin (8-3-0) is expected to start in goal.