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Kraken vs Sabres PREVIEW: “One order of wingers and hot sauce, please”

Kaapo Kakko reaches his gloved hand out to celebrate after scoring a goal. He's framed by a blurry silhouette of a Sabres player skating away
Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

The Need to Knows

  • The Time: 4:00 pm PT / 7:00 ET
  • The Place: Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA
  • Where to Watch: KHN, KONG, MSG-B (Buffalo area), ESPN+ (all other U.S. fans)
  • Where to Listen: Kraken Audio Network on KJR 93.3

Know Your Enemy

It’s only been a little over a week since the last time these two teams saw each other. The Kraken earned the first win of the season series against the Sabres in a 6-2 victory in Buffalo on January 11. You probably don’t need me to jog your memory of that one, but it was one of those games where it could’ve been easy for the Kraken to throw in the towel after being down by 2 goals at the end of the 1st. Instead, they dug in deep and completely buried the Sabres in goals.

The Sabres’ record over the last 10 games has a slight edge over the Kraken, with only one additional win: 5-4-1. Yet, earning 11 out of a possible 20 points over those 10 games betrays the fact that the Sabres sit as the 29th ranked team in the league with 39 total points. It’s hard to earn your way up the standings when you spent nearly an entire month on a 13-game losing streak, and teams that lose that many in a row don’t do so on accident. Their power play sits at 27th in the league with 17.7% efficiency, and their penalty kill is 22nd at 77.3%. These things contribute to their season-long woes.

Honestly, there’s something about the Buffalo Sabres that just feels cursed. With the conclusion of the 2024 NFL regular season, the New York Jets have the the current longest playoff drought across the “Big 4” North American men’s sports leagues at 14 seasons, but the Sabres sure look fated to tie those 14 seasons when the 2024-2025 NHL regular season reaches its end. Every so often, the Sabres pull together an impressive month or two (especially earn in a season) that makes it look like maybe they could finally be turning their fate around, only for it to all come crashing back down. Yet, sometimes you never know when another mirage is due to come around. Allyson’s preview for that January 11 matchup pointed out some key stats that the Sabres seem to be doing extremely well in in spite of their poor record. Little things like that can lift a team’s sails, even if it’s not enough to lift a postseason drought curse. Hey, at least the city of Buffalo can smash through tables for their AFC Championship bound Bills?

Game Preview

Speaking of turning things around, it’s been refreshing to see the Kraken put together a few more strong performances. They won in Pittsburgh (which was apparently the final straw needed for the Penguins to put Tristan Jarry on waivers and re-assign him to their AHL team in Wilkes-Barre), put up a strong fight against the Winnipeg Jets (the best team in the Western Conference) only to lose in the game’s dying seconds, and then won against the currently-playoff-bound LA Kings. There’s still a lot of work to be done to turn the Kraken into a consistent team, but wins still feel a lot better than losses.

A shining highlight lately has come courtesy of a line I’m willing to bet no one predicted would exist at the start of this season. (And if you somehow did, quick, what are the winning lottery numbers?) It’s the play of Matty Beniers, Jaden Schwartz, and Kaapo Kakko that have jumped out to be the Kraken’s best forward trio. Since Kakko’s trade from the New York Rangers, he’s turned his production around and has 13 points in his first 14 games as a Kraken. Beniers had been struggling earlier this season, but since being paired up with Kakko, the two second-overall draft picks seem to have found some sort of shared synergy and improved their games together. Schwartz has been playing solid hockey all season, but he’s elevated his game and also just added himself as the newest member of the Seattle Kraken hat trick club. There’s more for the Kraken to do than just string together one impressive line, but look towards them to lead the way in this late afternoon matchup.

Talking Points