Injury Keeps Tage Thompson Out for Sabres Versus Kings

The Buffalo Sabres will kick off the west coast trip in Los Angeles but will face the Kings without injured top center Tage Thompson. Thompson practiced Sunday and Monday with the Sabres in his usual spot in the lineup but is not quite ready to return. Alex Tuch will play in Los Angeles despite not taking the morning skate and missing practice on Sunday with an “ailment”. Buffalo is also missing Jordan Greenway, who did not travel with the team with an undisclosed injury.

The Sabres called up two forwards recently, Jiri Kulich and Isak Rosen, to fill out their depleted roster. Kulich played on Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers, recording two shots in 12:49 of ice time. He’s expected to center Buffalo’s third line today. Rosen will likely not be in the lineup with Tuch available to play. He has yet to play in an NHL game this season.

More: Video of Tage Thompson Injury

Where to Watch

Gametime: 10:30 p.m. ET

Location: Crypto.com Arena (Los Angeles, CA)

TV: MSG; SN; FDSNW

Stream: Gotham Sports; ESPN+ (Out of market)

Radio: WGR550

Sabres Gameday

The Sabres have averaged over four goals per game over their past six. A lot of the offensive surge can be attributed to the latest iteration of a top pairing in Rasmus Dahlin and Bowen Byram. Dahlin has four goals and nine points over that span, while Byram has added two goals and five points of his own.

Buffalo will need their defense to contribute offensively with all of the injuries to the forward group.

According to Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News, goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen worked in the starter’s net at the morning skate. Luukkonen last played on November 11th against the Montreal Canadiens, where he was pulled due to injury after allowing four goals on 18 shots. His return means James Reimer will serve as the backup, as the Sabres sent Devon Levi down to the AHL on Sunday.

Related: Sabres Sending Devon Levi Down to Rochester; Another Key Forward Injured

Los Angeles Kings

The Kings have been one of the best home teams in the NHL this season, posting a 5-1-1 record to start the year. Their 23 standings points in 19 games are good for second in the Pacific Division, boasting a 10-6-3 record.

Center Anze Kopitar recorded a hat trick the last time the Kings and Sabres met on October 10th. That game was in Buffalo, as the Sabres ran into a hot netminder in Darcy Kuemper in the 3-1 loss. Kuemper is on injured reserve with an undisclosed, long-term injury, leaving the goaltending to David Rittich tonight.

Injury Report

Buffalo Sabres

• Tage Thompson (Lower Body) Day-to-day [IR]
• Jordan Greenway (Undisclosed) Week-to-week
• Mattias Samuelsson (Lower Body) Week-to-week [IR]

Los Angeles Kings

• Caleb Jones (Upper Body) Out [IR]
• Darcy Kuemper (Undisclosed) Out [IR]
• Drew Doughty (Ankle) Out [IR]
• Arthur Kaliyev (Collarbone) Out [IR]

Projected Lineups

Buffalo Sabres

Forwards (Likely)

JJ Peterka – Ryan McLeod – Alex Tuch

Zach Benson – Dylan Cozens – Sam Lafferty

Jason Zucker – Jiri Kulich – Jack Quinn

Beck Malenstyn – Peyton Krebs – Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Defense (Confirmed)

Rasmus Dahlin – Bowen Byram

Owen Power – Henri Jokiharju

Jacob Bryson – Connor Clifton

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Source: Lance Lysowski, The Buffalo News

Los Angeles Kings

Forwards (Projected)

Alex Turcotte – Anze Kopitar – Adrian Kempe

Kevin Fiala – Phillip Danault – Trevor Moore

Warren Foegele – Quinton Byfield – Alex Laferriere

Tanner Jeannot – Samuel Helenius – Trevor Lewis

Defense (Projected)

Mikey Anderson – Vladislav Gavrikov

Jacob Moverare – Jordan Spence

Joel Edmundson – Brandt Clarke

Goalie (Confirmed)

David Rittich

Betting Breakdown

Without Tage Thompson, the gap between the Buffalo Sabres and Los Angeles Kings is increasingly large. The Kings were PuckLuck model in the preseason rankings and have lived up to the standard so far this season.

The model lists the Kings as about a -360 home favorite, which is a big disparity from the sportsbooks at around -180. This makes them a great value play, either on the -1.5 puckline or as a safer straight bet. For those just getting into sports betting, -1.5 means that the Kings would have to win by two goals or more to cash your ticket.

If you’re not already signed up, here are a couple of places offering exclusive deals through Buffalo Hockey Now:

Fanatics: https://fanatics.onelink.me/5kut/1v32imkp

(Up to $1000 back.)

MGM: https://mediaserver.betmgmpartners.com/renderBanner.do?zoneId=1714117

(Up to $1,500 back.)

For more betting analysis across the NHL, head over to PuckLuck.com.

*PuckLuck.com provides data related to gambling and cannot guarantee the success of any suggested or related wagers. Please gamble responsibly.*