Storylines
1. The lineup (updated 11:25 a.m.)
JJ Peterka will be in the lineup after missing the last two games with a concussion, Sabres coach Lindy Ruff announced. Peterka had been practicing with the team since Oct. 9 and spent Monday and Tuesday skating alongside Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch.
Peterka led the Sabres with four goals in three exhibition games after scoring a career-high 28 goals last season.
“JJ is a gifted goal scorer,” Ruff said. “I thought that line had good chemistry while we were using them. So, again, we’ve lacked a little finish. I think JJ gives us that extra layer of finish.”
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will start in goal. Luukkonen made a combined 106 saves on 112 shots in three starts against the Penguins last season (a .946 save percentage), including a 40-save win in Pittsburgh on Jan. 6.
2. Let’s get physical
The Sabres have made it a point to be harder to play against dating back to the offseason, when they brought in Ruff as coach and added a trio of hard hitters to the roster in Beck Malenstyn, Sam Lafferty, and Nicolas Aube-Kubel. They doubled down on that initiative with hard, competitive practices throughout training camp and the start of the season.
The early returns have been apparent. The Sabres rank second in the NHL with an average of 28.00 hits per 60 minutes. Their 112 total hits are tied for fourth.
Malenstyn is tied for ninth in the league with 14 hits, one of four Sabres in double digits along with Jordan Greenway (12), Mattias Samuelsson (11), and Dylan Cozens (10).
Ruff has discussed in recent days how the mandate for physicality doesn’t mean running around and chasing hits (though it does involve finishing checks when the opportunity presents itself). It's more so about using physicality to slow opponents in transition and kill plays defensively.
“We talk about everybody physically getting involved,” Ruff said. “Like, cutting people off in the neutral zone, getting in front of people, ending plays in the D-zone. I like what we’ve done in the D-zone where we’re getting out quickly, and it starts with physically engaging with your guy in the corner.”
3. Scouting the Penguins
Pittsburgh bounced back from a 6-0 loss to open its season by taking two out of three games on its recent road trip, thanks in large part to the play of Evgeni Malkin.
Malkin enters Wednesday tied for the NHL lead with six assists. His seven points are tied for fourth. He set up goals for Kris Letang and Rickard Rakell and then added an empty-net goal of his own in a 6-3 victory over Montreal on Tuesday.
Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan turned the attention to Malkin’s evolved defensive game in his postgame comments to the media after the win in Montreal.
“I think he looks strong,” Sullivan said, according to the Penguins website. “He's in great shape. I think he's trying to play the game the right way. We talked to him a lot about certain aspects of his game. We can see him making a concerted effort out there to try to play the game the right way.
“We've asked him to cut his skating down a little bit in the defensive zone, or his play away from the puck, and not playing so much in motion. I think he's trying to do that when the time calls for it. But I think he looks really strong, and he still has the ability to take over the game at particular points in time.”
