Buffalo Sabres vs. Los Angeles Kings Pick & Prediction NOVEMBER 20th 2024
Preview and Prediction
The Buffalo Sabres are set to embark on a three-game road trip to California, starting with a matchup against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday. This game could see the return of at least one key player, and potentially two.
Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is expected to make his comeback after being sidelined for two games due to a lower-body injury. In the previous game against the Montreal Canadiens, coach Lindy Ruff pulled Luukkonen after two periods, citing his injury as a factor in his performance.
Reflecting on his previous game, Luukkonen stated, "I feel like I wasn't playing at my best in the Montreal game. There are no excuses, but I know I can do better. I'm feeling much better now and I'm ready to give it my all."
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Luukkonen has been on a hot streak, winning six of his last eight games after a slow start to the season. However, he did allow four goals in the game against Montreal, breaking his streak of allowing two goals or less in six of his previous eight games.
Another player who could make a return for the Sabres is center Tage Thompson, who has also been out with a lower-body injury. He has been practicing with the top line and could potentially make his comeback in this game.
Thompson has been a key player for the Sabres this season, leading the team with 11 goals and 18 points. He has been a standout performer, reminiscent of his career-high 94 points in the 2022-23 season.
After a disappointing 5-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Sabres will be looking to bounce back and regain their consistency. Thompson acknowledged the team's need for improvement, stating, "We know we're a good team when we play the right way. We just need to focus on our game and not get ahead of ourselves."
The Kings, on the other hand, are coming off a 4-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings and are currently second in the Pacific Division. They have only played seven home games so far this season, but have a strong record of 5-1-1 at home.
Defenseman Mikey Anderson emphasized the importance of taking advantage of home games, saying, "We want to use the home crowd to our advantage and continue our strong performance at home. We need to keep improving and keep our fans happy."
Overall, the Kings have a record of 2-3-0 in their last five games. They will also have forward Alex Turcotte back in the lineup after missing five games with an upper-body injury. He is expected to play alongside captain Anze Kopitar and winger Adrian Kempe.
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Turcotte has one goal and four assists so far this season, and will be looking to make an impact in his return to the lineup.
Buffalo Sabres vs. Los Angeles Kings Recap FEB 13TH 2023
Viktor Arvidsson had a goal and two assists to help the host Los Angeles Kings earn a 5-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday.
Adrian Kempe added a goal and an assist and Phillip Danault had three assists for the Kings, who are 5-1-1 in their past seven games. Arthur Kaliyev, Sean Walker and Matt Roy each netted a goal, and Los Angeles' Pheonix Copley made 27 saves.
Dylan Cozens and Peyton Krebs scored for the Sabres. Victor Olofsson and Casey Mittelstadt collected two assists apiece and Craig Anderson made 23 saves in his first start since Jan. 23. Buffalo has been outscored 17-5 in its past three games and is 0-3-1 since a five-game winning streak.
Kempe connected for the third straight game to open the scoring with a short-handed goal at 9:20 of the second period. Blake Lizotte intercepted Kyle Okposo's drop pass in the Kings' zone and sent it to Kempe, who carried it up the ice before firing home his 27th of the season from the top of the left circle. The forward has seven goals in his three-game streak.
Kaliyev struck seven seconds into a power play for a 2-0 lead at 12:35 of the middle period. Danault partially fanned on a shot attempt from low in the left circle and the puck slid over to Kaliyev in the inner right circle, and Kaliyev beat Anderson short side.
Walker pushed it to 3-0 at 18:41 of the second. Arvidsson intercepted Anderson's clearing pass and sent a cross-ice feed to Danault, who quickly banked it off the right wall up to Walker above the circle.
Roy struck 33 seconds later, uncovered in the left circle, to extend it to 4-0 with 46 seconds remaining in the period.
Arvidsson made it 5-0 on the power play at 5:14 of the third period, poking in a loose puck on the goal line by Anderson's skate.
Cozens broke the shutout bid when his shot from the inner right circle squirted under Copley's left pad to make it 5-1 at 10:16 of the third. Krebs cut it to 5-2 with a tap-in, power-play goal down low at 15:09.