The Buffalo Sabres will have at least one key player back and could have two when they kick off a three-game California road trip with a visit to the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday.
Goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is set to return from a lower-body injury that sidelined him the past two games and led coach Lindy Ruff to pull him after two periods of a 7-5 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 11.
“I feel like I was pushing it in the Montreal game a little bit, and I’ve said before there’s no excuses for that but, still, I feel like I wasn’t playing 100 percent in the Montreal game,” Luukkonen said. “You can’t let that happen. You want to be 100 percent; you want to feel great. I feel like I’m at that point now.”
Luukkonen has won six of his past eight decisions after an 0-2-1 start, including three straight victories before the game against Montreal, which ended up being tagged to Levi. Luukkonen had allowed two goals or fewer in six of his previous eight and three in another before giving up four against the Canadiens.
Buffalo could also welcome back Tage Thompson, who was injured against Montreal. Like Luukkonen, the center has missed the past two games with a lower-body injury. He was back in his top-line spot at practice Monday and again Tuesday, though he didn’t take reps on the power play on Tuesday.
Thompson and Ruff both said Monday that he’s close, but neither would confirm a return.
Thompson leads the team with 11 goals and 18 points and has looked like the star who produced a career-high 94 points (47 goals, 47 assists) in 2022-23.
The Sabres will try to bounce back from a poor effort in a 5-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. It was their second loss in the past three games after a three-game winning streak.
“It’s all about consistency right now,” Thompson said. “We know when we commit to playing the right way we’re good, and right now I think it’s just us being a little immature, just thinking we’re better than we are, instead of relying on what’s gotten us results.”
The Kings, meanwhile, also have been off since Saturday, when they earned a 4-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings. Los Angeles entered Tuesday second in the Pacific Division, one point behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the division lead.
The team will play just its eighth home game of the season after starting the campaign with a lengthy road trip and is 5-1-1 thus far as the hosts.
“You want to have the advantage at home and play well in front of your fans and use all the perks of being at home to your advantage,” defenseman Mikey Anderson said. “Everyone’s happy with the way we’ve (played) so far at home, but we’ve got to keep going with it and keep getting better.”
Overall, the Kings are 2-3-0 in their past five games.
Alex Turcotte will play his second straight game after missing five with an upper-body injury. The forward skated with captain Anze Kopitar and winger Adrian Kempe in his return Saturday and is expected to do so again versus Buffalo.
He has one goal this season, scored back on Oct. 16, and four assists.
