Buffalo Sabres Face San Jose Sharks: Game 69 Preview & Discussion
The Buffalo Sabres (42-20-6) visit the San Jose Sharks (32-28-6) on Friday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 10:00 PM at SAP Center in San Jose, California. The game will air on MSG-B and ESPN+, with radio coverage on WGR 550.
Standings and context
San Jose sits sixth in the Pacific Division with 70 points. The Sharks lost their last game 5-3 to the Edmonton Oilers. They trail the Kraken and Kings by one point in the wild-card race.
Buffalo has surged on the road. After a slow start, the Sabres ran an 11-game road point streak. That streak is a franchise record and began after the team’s regulation struggles early in the season.
Special teams
San Jose’s power play ranks 18th at 19.9 percent. Buffalo’s power play is close behind at 20.5 percent, ranked 17th. The Sharks kill penalties at 78.8 percent, fifth-best in the league. The Sabres have the third-best penalty kill at 83.2 percent.
What to watch
Macklin Celebrini
Celebrini leads San Jose in goals, assists, points and plus-minus. He holds a large scoring gap over teammate Will Smith, who is second on the team. San Jose has just one regulation win when Celebrini records a point.
San Jose has the last change at home. Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff will try to deploy Rasmus Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson against Celebrini’s line.
Sabres’ bottom pair
Buffalo is experimenting with its bottom defensive pair ahead of the playoffs. Tanner Stanley has skated with multiple partners. Stanley with Kesselring produced an acceptable result. Stanley with Schenn was disappointing. Stanley paired with Metsa was solid against Vegas.
Metsa appears likely to draw in again. The club must find a pairing that eases the workload on the top four defenders.
Recent meeting
The teams met recently in Buffalo. The Sabres won that matchup 6-3 about ten days earlier. San Jose will seek payback at home in this Game 69 preview and discussion of playoff positioning.
Projected lineups
Buffalo Sabres
- Forwards: Benson – Thompson – Tuch
- Forwards: Östlund – Norris – Doan
- Forwards: Zucker – McLeod – Quinn
- Forwards: Krebs – Carrick – Malenstyn
- Defense: Samuelsson – Dahlin
- Defense: Byram – Power
- Defense: Stanley – Metsa
- Starter: Lyon
San Jose Sharks
- Forwards: Graf – Celebrini – Smith
- Forwards: Eklund – Misa – Toffoli
- Forwards: Regenda – Wennberg – Sherwood
- Forwards: Goodrow – Ostapchuk – Gaudette
- Defense: Orlov – Klingberg
- Defense: Ferraro – Desharnais
- Defense: Dickinson – Leddy
- Starter: Nedeljkovic
San Jose will be desperate for points in the wild-card fight. Buffalo will aim to extend its road point streak and protect its standing. For continuing coverage and analysis, follow Filmogaz.com.
