The Buffalo Sabres have had several chances to go above .500 this season but have yet to seize on one. They’ll give it yet another go when they visit the Anaheim Ducks on Friday.
Buffalo is 0-3-0 in its three previous attempts to post a winning record this season.
The Sabres pulled themselves back to even Wednesday with a 1-0 win against the Los Angeles Kings, a contest that was scoreless after two periods before Jason Zucker’s power-play goal 38 seconds into the third. That improved them to 5-2-0 in their past seven games after a three-game losing streak.
“That’s part of the growth,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “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 high, too. It was a hard game from start to finish for both teams.”
Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen returned against Los Angeles after missing two games with a lower-body injury to earn his sixth career NHL shutout. The 25-year-old is 4-0-0 in five starts since Nov. 5 and allowed just four goals in those wins.
“His size, but then his ability to get post to post, flexibility, and make those big saves … That really energizes a group,” forward Beck Malenstyn told the Buffalo News. “I think he makes a lot of those timely saves for us, and we have all the trust in the world in him back there.”
After a woeful 0-for-22 run on the power play to start the season, the Sabres have turned the corner with the man advantage. Since Zucker broke the drought on Oct. 26, Buffalo is 11-for-37, a 29.7 percent efficiency that ranked third in the NHL in that span entering Thursday’s schedule.
The Ducks have hit a groove of their own of late, riding a three-game winning streak and winners of four of their past five after a four-game skid. They followed up a 6-4 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 15 with a 4-2 victory against the Dallas Stars on Nov. 18 and a 3-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks the next night.
“Our team’s kind of starting to jell, we’re starting to get some chemistry within the lines,” forward Alex Killorn said. “We’re not scoring a ton of goals but we’re not allowing a ton to go in. Our defensive play’s been great.”
Anaheim has allowed an average of 2.6 goals against over its past five games, giving up more than three goals only once. Lukas Dostal and John Gibson have alternated starts in goal over that stretch.
Second-year forward Leo Carlsson, 19, shares the team lead with Troy Terry with six goals and is second only to Terry in points with 10, by way of two fewer assists.
“I think we’re on a path where we can take another step forward soon, hopefully,” Carlsson told Hockey Sverige. “Many of us are still only 19, 20, or 21 years old, and it’s not easy to make that leap. But there’s a good feeling in the team, and we’re confident.”
