Game #36 Preview and Open Thread: Sabers vs. Blackhawks

Buffalo saber (19.12.4) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (12/21/2)

Puck drop: 7:00 PM EST | KeyBank Center | Buffalo, NY

TV: ESPN2

Know your opponent

Chicago Blackhawks

Record: 21.12.2 | 26 PTS

Last game: 4-3 loss to Minnesota (December 23)

Division ranking: 8. in the middle

PP: 22.5% (Sabre: 14.7%)

PK: 85.3% (Saber: 77.0%)

What you should see

1. A battle of battles

Man, I’m sure ESPN2 is thrilled to have the 30th-ranked Buffalo Sabers hosting the 32nd-ranked Chicago Blackhawks on a Friday night national broadcast! The worst team in the Western Conference comes to town looking to avoid a three-game losing streak. Chicago last lost 6-4 in Calgary, then before the holiday break 4-3 in Minnesota. But before those two losses, they had won three in a row. Overall, the Blackhawks are 4-6-0 in their last 10 games, but have struggled on the road all season, going 5-13-2.

Earlier this month, on December 5, the Blackhawks relieved Luke Richardson of his head coaching duties and named Anders Sorensen (of AHL Rockford) as his interim replacement.

The Sabers are coming off a big win, both literally and figuratively – a decisive 7-1 win over the Islanders on Monday. Tonight’s game marks the final home game of the year for the Sabres, who won’t play again in Buffalo until January 6th. The Sabers, of course, recently broke their 13-game winning streak and are currently 1-7-2 in their last 10 games. They’re also 6-10-3 at home this season, so KeyBank Center doesn’t exactly offer much of a home advantage.

2. Hello again.

Today’s matchup is the second and final meeting of the season between the Sabers and Blackhawks. Buffalo won 4-2 in Chicago on Oct. 19, powered by goals from Tage Thompson, Beck Malenstyn, JJ Peterka and Ryan McLeod. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 35 saves. Craig Smith scored both goals for Chicago, while Arvid Söderblom stopped 18 of 21 shots.

The Blackhawks are led by Connor Bedard (…obviously), who has 30 points in 35 games this season. His 21 assists are the most on the team, while Ryan Donato leads the team with 11 goals. Bedard also scored three game-winning goals this season.

Our old friend Taylor Hall had seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points in 34 games.

3. Black and Red

It’s another Black and Red Goats game on Friday night as the Sabers don these special jerseys for today’s game. Whether or not it actually makes a difference in the team’s play on the ice, it’s a beautiful sight, that’s for sure.

Buffalo saber

Forward

Jason Zucker – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch
JJ Peterka – Dylan Cozens – Jack Quinn
Zach Benson – Jiri Kulich – Peyton Krebs
Beck Malenstyn – Ryan McLeod – Sam Lafferty

defense

Rasmus Dahlin – Bowen Byram
Mattias Samuelsson – Owen Power
Jacob Bryson – Connor Clifton

Goalkeeper: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, James Reimer

Chicago Blackhawks

Forward

Taylor Hall – Connor Bedard – Tyler Bertuzzi
Nick Foligno – Frank Nazar – Ryan Donato
Teuvo Teravainen – Jason Dickinson – Ilya Mikheyev
Pat Maroon – Lukas Reichel – Joey Anderson

defense

Alex Vlasic – Connor Murphy
Nolan Allan-Seth Jones
Kevin Korchinski – TJ Brodie

Goalkeeper: Petr Mrazek, Arvid Söderblom