It has been a tough couple weeks for Buffalo and Utah.
The Sabres own just one win in their past seven games (1-2-4). The Mammoth have just one in their past six — against Buffalo on Nov. 4.
Both are looking to snap out of their skid when the Sabres visit the Mammoth on Wednesday in Salt Lake City.
Buffalo, the only team in the NHL without a road win (0-3-2), arrives in Utah having most recently dropped a 6-3 decision to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday for its third straight loss. Offense has been an issue of late, with just two goals in eight-plus periods before matching that total in a three-and-a-half-minute span early in the third period against Carolina.
The Sabres are averaging 28.9 shots per game, which tied them for 11th in the NHL through Monday’s games. Their shooting percentage, however, ranked dead last at 9.22%.
“I think when you look at expected goals and some of the opportunities that have gone by the wayside, we’ve created enough opportunities,” said Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff. “We just haven’t finished. I’d be worried if we weren’t creating enough. I think to start the year, those first three games, we created very little. I think we went through a stretch where we really started to create a lot.”
Injuries have taken their toll up front. On Monday, Ruff revealed that center Jiri Kulich will be out long-term with a blood clot issue while winger Jason Zucker remains sidelined by a severe viral issue he hasn’t been able to shake. Zach Benson also remains out with a lower-body injury and has yet to rejoin the team for practice.
The blue line is at full health, but the Sabres are missing their most important piece in captain Rasmus Dahlin. He has taken a temporary leave of absence to be with his fiancee, who is recovering from an emergency heart transplant during the offseason, and family.
“You’re not trying to be the person that’s out of the lineup, but more so just the best version of yourself,” said defenseman Owen Power. “You play hard and you’re not trying to be him, obviously knowing that there’s big minutes to fill.”
The Mammoth are back home after their four-game swing through the Atlantic Division that concluded Sunday with a 4-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators. Before their current slide, they sat atop the Western Conference. They’ve since dropped to eighth.
“I think just not getting down on ourselves (is important),” said Utah forward Nick Schmaltz. “When you go through tough stretches and you’re not winning games, you seem to get frustrated easier. When they score, you don’t, we need that drive, that energy.”
Schmaltz leads Utah with 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) in 16 games — totals that put him on pace to smash his career highs. Last season, he set personal bests with 43 assists and 63 points. His career high of 23 goals came in 2021-22.
JJ Peterka, the former Sabres winger, sits sixth on the team with 10 points (four goals, six assists). He collected six of those points during a four-game point streak from Oct. 23-28. He’s hit a dry spell since with no points in his past five games.
–Field Level Media
