Storylines
1. Last time out
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 23 saves for his first shutout of the season and the Sabres’ special teams were a difference maker in the 1-0 win over the Kings.
Buffalo went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill, with forward Ryan McLeod and defenseman Connor Clifton each surpassing six minutes of shorthanded ice time. The power play, meanwhile, scored for the seventh consecutive game on Jason Zucker’s deflection to break the 0-0 tie in the third period.
“I think it means a lot to our team,” Ruff said of the 1-0 result. “That’s part of the growth is you’ve got to get comfortable in a game like that where it’s tight. … I thought our compete on the puck was where it needed to be to win a hockey game and their compete was hard, too. It was a hard game from start to finish for both teams.”
Read more in Wednesday’s postgame report.
2. Dahlin’s streak
Rasmus Dahlin sent a shot from the blue line through traffic to set up Zucker’s power-play goal against the Kings, extending his point streak to seven games. Dahlin has four goals and seven assists in that span.
The Sabres captain has 17 points this season, tied for sixth among NHL defensemen. His five goals are tied for third.
3. Scouting the Ducks
The Ducks have won three straight games following a 3-2 comeback victory in Chicago on Tuesday. Veteran forward Alex Killorn extended his point streak to four games by scoring the tying goal during the third period, then set up Leo Carlsson’s game winner less than four minutes later.
Carlsson, the second-overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, is tied for the team lead with six goals. Forward Troy Terry also has six goals and leads the Ducks with 12 points.
