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

The Buffalo Sabres host the Vegas Golden Knights at KeyBank Center on Saturday in the first game of a back-to-back set and the second and final meeting between the two teams this season.

The Sabres defeated the Golden Knights 5-2 on Dec. 15 in Vegas after Buffalo scored four unanswered goals in the third period to secure the victory.

Dylan Cozens (1+2), Casey Mittelstadt (2+1), Zach Benson (1+1), and Alex Tuch (1+1) each scored and recorded multi-point nights in the win.

Buffalo opens its back-to-back having won four of its last five games, including Thursday’s 3-2 overtime victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“We’re gonna have to come and have a really strong game tonight,” Tuch said. “We know that they’re going to come out firing and ready to go, so we have to have a strong start tonight.”

Puck drop inside KeyBank Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Tickets are available here. 

The game will be available exclusively on ESPN+/Hulu. Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray will have the call on WGR 550.

Here are five things to know before Sabres vs. Golden Knights.

1. Projected lineup

Defenseman Erik Johnson will not be in the lineup against Vegas as he is still recovering from an illness that sidelined him Thursday in Tampa Bay, the team announced.

Here are the projected lines based on the team’s skate this morning:

Forwards

12 Jordan Greenway – 72 Tage Thompson – 89 Alex Tuch

53 Jeff Skinner – 37 Casey Mittelstadt – 21 Kyle Okposo

9 Zach Benson – 24 Dylan Cozens – 77 JJ Peterka

50 Eric Robinson – 19 Peyton Krebs – 28 Zemgus Girgensons

Defensemen

26 Rasmus Dahlin – 10 Henri Jokiharju

25 Owen Power – 78 Jacob Bryson

33 Ryan Johnson – 75 Connor Clifton

Goalies

1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

31 Eric Comrie

2. Luukkonen’s workload

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is set to make his eighth consecutive start and has started in 17 of Buffalo's last 19 games. He has posted a 6-2-0 record in his last eight appearances, registering a .930 save percentage and a 1.98 goals-against average in that span.

Granato said he has not decided if Luukkonen will play both games in the back-to-back set, but instead will carefully consider the goaltender’s workload and response following Saturday’s contest.

He also shared that Luukkonen has handled the increased workload “incredibly well,” which is a testament to the work the 24-year-old has put in.

“He’s come a long, long ways just in the last couple of years with how he takes care of his body and how he can take care of his body to get it to respond and rebound in a very short time,” Granato said.

3. On the power play

The Sabres’ power play went 2-for-3 against the Lightning, capitalizing on the man advantage to score both the game-tying and game-winning goals.

The group will look to build off that success against a Vegas penalty kill that ranks 19th in the NHL on the road.

Here’s how the power-play units set up during morning skate:

First unit:                               

                                   89 Alex Tuch

72 Tage Thompson – 12 Jordan Greenway – 24 Dylan Cozens

                                   26 Rasmus Dahlin     

Second unit:

                                    21 Kyle Okposo

37 Casey Mittelstadt – 53 Jeff Skinner – 77 JJ Peterka

                                    25 Owen Power

4. Greenway’s presence

Greenway is expected to skate alongside Tage Thompson and Tuch on Saturday after Granato put the trio together in Tampa Bay.

Greenway contributed to two of the Sabres’ three goals against the Lightning, including the game-winning goal, when he screened Andrei Vasilevskiy to help set up Dahlin’s overtime winner.

“Greener is unbelievable,” Tuch said. “I think he’s really coming to his own this year. He’s super strong on pucks, always making the right play, really good defensively. … It makes it really easy on his other two linemates. He’s really good on the forecheck, he’s good defensively, and allows us to play a lot more with the puck. So, it’s a lot of fun out there.”

5. Scouting the Golden Knights

Vegas has posted a 1-2 record on its current five-game road trip after losing to the Boston Bruins on Thursday by a score of 5-4.

The Golden Knights rank second in the Pacific Division standings with 73 points in 2023-24 but have only won four of their last 10 games.

Captain Mark Stone, who leads the Golden Knights with 53 points (16+37) this season, remains week to week with an upper-body injury.

Forward Jack Eichel practiced in full on Friday but will not be in the lineup against the Sabres, coach Bruce Cassidy announced. Eichel has been out since January after undergoing surgery on a lower-body injury he sustained versus Boston on Jan. 11.

Defenseman Shea Theodore is riding a five-game point streak with nine assists in that span while forward Jonathan Marchessault has recorded four goals and four assists during his four-game point streak.