Byram notched a power-play assist and three shots on goal in Friday's 5-2 loss to the Penguins.
Byram ended a five-game point drought when he helped out on Owen Power's first-period tally. For the season, Byram has five goals, 18 helpers, 55 shots on net, 68 blocked shots, 46 hits and a plus-4 rating over 45 appearances. He continues to play alongside Rasmus Dahlin on the top pairing.
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Sabres' Alex Tuch: Adds helper in loss
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Tuch provided an assist in Friday's 5-2 loss to the Penguins.
Tuch has two goals and three assists over his last five contests. The 28-year-old winger is up to 33 points, 98 shots on net, 70 blocked shots and a plus-15 rating through 45 appearances. Tuch is second among all forwards in blocks, trailing only Seattle's Brandon Tanev (75), making him one of the better two-way wingers in the whole league.
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Sabres' Tage Thompson: Helpers in back-to-back games
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Thompson logged an assist, seven shots on goal and two PIM in Friday's 5-2 loss to the Penguins.
Thompson set up a Zach Benson tally in the third period. This was Thompson's second game in a row with a helper, and he has a goal and five assists over seven outings in January. Overall, the 27-year-old has 36 points, 124 shots on net, 40 hits and a plus-1 rating through 40 appearances in 2024-25.
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Sabres' Owen Power: Nets first career power-play goal
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Power scored a power-play goal on two shots and went minus-2 in Friday's 5-2 loss to the Penguins.
This was Power's first career power-play goal and his first point with the man advantage this season. Despite his lack of special-teams production, he's pushing to reach the 40-point mark for the first time in his career. He's matched his career high with six goals while adding 17 assists, 79 shots on net, 69 blocked shots and a minus-9 rating through 45 appearances this season.
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Sabres' Zach Benson: Collects pair of points
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Benson scored a goal on two shots and added a power-play assist in Friday's 5-2 loss to the Penguins.
Benson earned his first multi-point effort since Nov. 29 versus the Canucks. The 19-year-old set up Owen Power's goal in the first period before scoring one of his own in the third. Benson has four goals and an assist over his last 11 outings while seeing steady middle-six minutes. Overall, the winger has 16 points (two on the power play), 58 shots on net, 32 PIM and a minus-1 rating through 39 appearances.
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Sabres' Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: Outplayed in all facets Friday
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Luukkonen stopped 14 of 18 shots in Friday's 5-2 loss to the Penguins. The fifth goal was an empty-netter.
Luukkonen gave up a pair of goals in quick succession early in the second period, and the Penguins went 3-for-5 on the power play in the contest. It didn't help Luukkonen's cause that opposing goalie Alex Nedeljkovic put up a 40-save performance and added the empty-netter as well as an assist. Luukkonen is now 14-14-4 with a 3.02 GAA and an .896 save percentage after this poor outing. The Sabres begin a four-game road trip Monday in Seattle.
Luukkonen was the first goaltender off the ice at morning skate and will defend the home crease versus Pittsburgh on Friday, per Penguins play-by-play announcer Josh Getzoff.
Luukkonen was sharp in Wednesday's 4-2 win over Carolina as he turned aside 35 shots. Luukkonen is 14-13-4 with a pair of shutouts, a 2.99 GAA and an .898 save percentage. The Penguins are averaging 2.96 goals per game in 2024-25, which is tied for 17th in the NHL.
Kulich (lower body) is doubtful for Friday's game against Pittsburgh, according to Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald.
Head coach Lindy Ruff said Thursday that Kulich is progressing but doesn't think that he will be an option Friday. The center will miss his fourth straight game after suffering his injury against Washington on Jan. 6. Kulich has seven goals and nine points with 64 shots on goal across 31 games this season.
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Sabres' Connor Clifton: Adds helper in win
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Clifton notched an assist, four hits and two PIM in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Hurricanes.
Clifton ended a 10-game point drought when he set up the first goal of Ryan McLeod's hat trick just 43 seconds into the contest. The Sabres' defense is fully healthy for the first time recently, so Clifton will have to keep his performance up to avoid losing playing time to Dennis Gilbert or Jacob Bryson. Clifton has eight assists, 33 shots on net, 29 PIM, 123 hits, 65 blocked shots and a plus-5 rating through 42 appearances this season and likely won't score enough to help in fantasy.
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Sabres' Beck Malenstyn: Generates assist in return
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Malenstyn posted an assist and four hits in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Hurricanes.
Malenstyn helped out on a Ryan McLeod tally within the first minute of the game. After missing three contests due to an illness, Malenstyn showed no ill effects Wednesday, with his 15:05 of ice time ranking fourth among Sabres forwards. The 26-year-old winger has nine points, 36 shots on net, 100 hits, 37 blocked shots and a minus-5 rating through 41 appearances, primarily in a bottom-six role.
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Sabres' Tage Thompson: Contributes assist in win
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Thompson logged an assist and went plus-2 in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Hurricanes.
There was some debate who would get credit for the Sabres' fourth goal, which was an awarded empty-netter that ultimately went to Ryan McLeod. Thompson was still rewarded with an assist on that play for his first point in three contests. The 27-year-old forward is up to 19 goals, 16 helpers, 117 shots on net, 40 hits and an even plus-minus rating through 39 appearances in a top-line role this season.
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Sabres' Alex Tuch: Records helper in win
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Tuch notched an assist, three shots on goal, four blocked shots and a plus-2 rating in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Hurricanes.
Tuch has two goals and two assists over his last four outings. The 28-year-old winger is up to 32 points, 97 shots on net, 70 blocked shots, 34 hits, 25 PIM and a plus-15 rating over 44 appearances. Tuch's strong two-way play hasn't forced him to sacrifice offense, making him a good option for fantasy formats that count a lot of categories.
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Sabres' Jason Zucker: Provides pair of helpers
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Zucker recorded two assists, two shots on goal, two blocked shots and a plus-2 rating in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Hurricanes.
Zucker ended a three-game slump with his third multi-point effort in the last eight contests. He helped out on the last two goals of Ryan McLeod's hat trick. Zucker's strong season has had few hiccups -- he's now at 15 goals, 33 points, 79 shots on net, 45 hits, 39 PIM and a plus-1 rating over 44 appearances. As long as he's logging top-six minutes, he should be on most fantasy rosters.
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Sabres' Dylan Cozens: Pots goal in Wednesday's win
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Cozens scored a goal and added two hits in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Hurricanes.
Cozens gave the Sabres a 2-0 lead at 8:18 of the second period with a goal that came against the run of play. The 23-year-old center has a pair of goals over the last three contests and a total of nine points across his last 13 games. For the season, he's collected 10 goals, 22 points, 96 shots on net, 89 hits, 45 PIM and a minus-16 rating over 44 appearances. Cozens will continue to have a little extra fantasy value as long as he's on the top line.
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Sabres' Ryan McLeod: Earns hat trick in unique way
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McLeod scored three goals, took three shots on net, added two PIM, blocked two shots and went plus-3 in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Hurricanes.
McLeod's third goal was awarded after he was interfered with while going for an empty-netter. There was some question after the contest if the goal belonged to McLeod or Tage Thompson, but it was eventually officially ruled to go to McLeod, giving him a hat trick. The 25-year-old has a pair of three-point efforts over his last three outings, and he's up to 10 goals, 24 points, 47 shots on net, 21 blocked shots and a plus-7 rating over 44 appearances.
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Sabres' Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: Stops 35 shots in win
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Luukkonen stopped 35 of 37 shots in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Hurricanes.
Luukkonen faced a lot of pressure, especially late in the contest, but he was able to come away with his third win in four starts. He's allowed a total of 10 goals in that span, five of which he gave up in Saturday's loss to the Kraken. Luukkonen improved to 14-13-4 with a 2.99 GAA and an .898 save percentage over 32 starts this season. The Sabres' next game is Friday at home versus the Penguins before the team begins a four-game road trip Monday in Seattle.
Samuelsson (illness) will make his return Wednesday against Carolina.
Samuelsson missed Buffalo's previous two games due to the illness. He has two goals, five points, 43 hits and 34 blocks in 26 appearances in 2024-25. Samuelsson is projected to skate on the third pairing alongside Connor Clifton in his return.
