The Buffalo Sabres (0-2) host the Tampa Bay Lightning (1-2) at KeyBank Center on Tuesday, October 17 at 7:30 PM ET on ESPN. The Sabres were defeated by the New York Islanders 3-2 in their most recent outing, while the Lightning are coming off a 5-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators.
Sabres vs. Lightning Game Info
- Game Day: Tuesday, October 17, 2023
- Game Time: 7:30 PM ET
- TV Channel: ESPN
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Sabres and Lightning Stats, Key Players, and Injuries
Sabres Insights
- The Sabres’ 293 goals scored last season (3.6 per game) ranked third in the league.
- Defensively, the Sabres gave up 297 total goals (3.6 per game) to rank 26th in NHL play.
- They had the league’s 19th-ranked goal differential at -4.
- The 63 power-play goals the Sabres scored last season were eighth-best in the NHL (on 269 power-play chances).
- The Sabres were ninth in the league with a 23.42% power-play conversion rate.
- The Sabres scored nine shorthanded goals last season.
- The Sabres’ 73.01% penalty-kill success rate ranked 28th in the league.
- The Sabres won 45.1% of their faceoffs to rank 32nd in the NHL.
- The Sabres shot 11% as a team (sixth in the league).
- The Sabres secured two shutouts last season. Their skaters averaged 14.3 hits and 11.3 blocked shots per game.
Sabres Key Players
- Tage Thompson was important to Buffalo’s offense a season ago, recording 94 points in 78 games.
- Jeff Skinner garnered 82 points (35 goals, 47 assists), adding significantly to the team’s scoring efforts last season.
- In 74 games a season ago, Alex Tuch proved to be a contributor for Buffalo. He posted 79 points on the year (36 goals and 43 assists).
- Across 19 games played, Eric Comrie had a goaltending record of 9-9-1 last season. During those games, he yielded 68 goals while recording 526 saves.
Sabres Injuries
Jack Quinn: Achilles (Out), Matthew Savoie: Shoulder (Out)
Lightning Insights
- The Lightning were eighth in the NHL in scoring last season (280 goals, 3.4 per game).
- The Lightning conceded 252 total goals (3.1 per game), 14th in the league.
- They had the 11th-ranked goal differential in the league at +28.
- The Lightning had 71 power-play goals (on 280 chances), third in the NHL.
- The Lightning had the NHL’s third-best power-play percentage (25.36%).
- In terms of shorthanded goals, the Lightning had seven.
- The 79.69% penalty-kill percentage of the Lightning was 15th in the league.
- At 51.6%, the Lightning had the league’s 11th-ranked faceoff win percentage.
- The 10.7% shooting percentage of the Lightning was seventh in the league.
- The Lightning held their opponents scoreless six times.
Lightning Key Players
- Nikita Kucherov’s 113 points last season made him a pivotal offensive option for Tampa Bay. He recorded 30 goals and 83 assists in 82 games.
- Brayden Point posted 95 total points (1.2 per game) last season. He had 51 goals and 44 assists.
- Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos was among the leading scorers on the team with 84 total points (34 goals and 50 assists).
- Jonas Johansson had a 2-0-0 record last season, with a 93.151 save percentage (second-best in the league). He gave up five goals (0.2 goals against average).
Lightning Injuries
Andrei Vasilevskiy: Back (Out), Tyler Motte: Upper Body (Out)
 host the Tampa Bay Lightning (1-2) at KeyBank Center on Tuesday, October 17 at 7:30 PM ET on ESPN. The Sabres were defeated by the New York Islanders 3-2 in their most recent outing, while the Lightning are coming off a 5-2 loss to the Ottawa...){kind=link}