Buffalo Sabres (13-14-2) vs. Colorado Avalanche (15-10-2)
The Buffalo Sabres start a three-game road trip Thursday, December 15, 2022, when they face off against the Colorado Avalanche in the cross-conference showdown at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, with the puck drop at 9:00 PM ET.
Buffalo and Colorado wrap up their two-game regular-season series. On the first day of December, the Avalanche beat the Sabres 6-4 as -175 road favorites. Colorado is listed as a -177 home fave this time around, while the totals sit at 6.5 goals.
The Buffalo Sabres snapped their two-game skid this past Tuesday. They dismantled the Los Angeles Kings 6-0 as slight -105 home dogs, tallying all of their six goals in the third period. LA outshot Buffalo 40-31, but the 41-year-old Craig Anderson had a wonderful night between the pipes. Anderson posted his first shutout in nearly four years, while Tage Thompson led the skaters with a couple of power-play goals and an assist. The Sabres went 3-for-6 with the man advantage.
“I think a lot of times younger teams that haven’t played the right way for too long, if they get off their game, they start trying to do too much, be individual,” Craig Anderson said. “We didn’t do that tonight, which is a huge stepping stone in our growth.”& #xA0;
We've unleashed the beast. #LetsGoBuffalo pic.twitter.com/LB7E0CGpjX
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) December 14, 2022
Craig Anderson has done a good job for the Sabres so far this season, going 6-4-1 with a 2.71 GAA and .921 save percentage. Eric Comrie (4-7-0; 3.62 GAA; .887 SV%) is on the IR, while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is 3-3-1 with an underwhelming 3.86 GAA and .866 save percentage. The Sabres haven’t announced who’ll guard the cage against Colorado, and Anderson hasn’t started two straight games since mid-November.
Buffalo ranks 25th in the NHL in goals against (3.55 per contest) and first in goals for (3.93). The Sabres boast the second-best power-play percentage in the NHL (33-for-113) and pace the league in shooting percentage (12.1%).