Game 25 Preview and Open Thread: Avalanche vs. Sabres

Colorado avalanche (13-12-0) against Buffalo Sabres (11-11-2)

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

TV: MSG-B

Radio: WGR 550

Know your opponent

Colorado avalanche

Record: 13-12-0 | 26 PTS

Last game: 4-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers

Division ranking: 4th in the Central Division

PP: 6. (27.2%)

PK: 29. (71.9%)

What you should see

1. The return of the sick mitts

After forward Casey Mittelstadt was drafted by Buffalo and played there for several years, he was traded to Colorado in March in exchange for defenseman Bowen Byram. Since then, Mitts has contributed 11 goals and 28 points in 43 games for the Avalanche. That may not seem particularly impressive, but he is already on his way to performing better for his new team. To put it in perspective, the most goals Mittelstadt ever scored in a single season with Buffalo was 15 goals in his only full season (he is historically injury-prone, as fans may remember). Since these two teams haven’t played against each other in almost a full year, this will be Mitts’ first game at KeyBank Center since the trade and Byram’s first game against his former teammates. It will be interesting to see whether the Mittelstadt team strengthens their offense a bit this evening.

2. Oh captain, her captain

Hockey fans may have noticed that a key player has been missing from the Avs’ roster for quite some time – their talented captain Gabriel Landeskog. The winger has not played an NHL game since winning the Stanley Cup in 2022 and subsequent complicated knee surgeries. The timeline for his recovery is still unknown and in his absence, stand-in captain Mikko Rantanen has stepped up offensively. The Finnish forward was just named the second NHL Star of the Month for November after scoring 11 goals and his second hat trick of the season during that time. Rantanen also managed six (!) multi-point games in November, so it’s safe to say the Sabers can do that Really have to keep an eye on him in their zone.

By the way, the Sabers have been flagging on their power play (and, let’s be honest, scoring in general, having been shut out in two of their last three games). Since the Avs aren’t great on the penalty kill, it’s once again time to get the man advantage back on track. Buffalo has gone 0 of 13 in its last five games and unfortunately, some of those power plays didn’t even put a single shot on net. As frustration grows, so does fans’ frustration. Tonight is a season-long home game with five key must-win games to bring some excitement back to the fans.

3. Sabers hot players

Alex Tuch continues to shine and leads his club with 22 points so far this season. He’s also scored an impressive 10 points in his last nine games, so he’ll likely contribute offensively tonight. Isn’t he so much fun to watch?

Additionally, captain Rasmus Dahlin could also shine tonight, albeit in a different way. He’s just one goal away from tying Sabers alum Mike Ramsey for second place on Buffalo’s all-time defenseman list. Will he match or even surpass Ramsey tonight?

Planned lineups

Buffalo saber

Forward

Jason Zucker – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch

Zach Benson – Dylan Cozens – JJ Peterka

Jiri Kulich – Ryan McLeod – Jack Quinn

Beck Malenstyn – Peyton Kreba – Nicholas Aube-Kubel/Tyson Kozak*

*Sam Lafferty is week-to-week with a lower-body injury and is not on the roster tonight. Kozak was recently called up from Rochester but will not see ice time tonight.

defense

Bowen Byram – Rasmus Dahlin

Owen Power – Henri Jokiharju

Jacob Bryson – Connor Clifton

Goalkeeper: Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen (expected), James Reimer

Colorado avalanche

Forward

Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Mikko Rantanen

Nikolai Kovalenko – Casey Mittelstadt – Valeri Nichushkin

Joel Kiviranta – Ivan Ivan – Logan O’Connor

Chase Bradley-Parker Kelly-Chris Wagner

defense

Devon Toews – Cale Makar

Samuel Girard-Sam Malinski

Oliver Kylington* – John Ludvig

*Kylington is dealing with an upper body injury on a daily basis.

Goalkeeper: Alexandar Georgiev, Scott Wedgewood (expected)