Dallas has the form, goaltending numbers and head-to-head result to test a Buffalo team mired in a three-game skid.
Saturday’s matchup carries a two-point standings gap: Dallas is 10-6-2 with 22 points, while Buffalo is 8-7-4 with 20. The Stars are 3-2 in their last five; the Sabres are 1-4 and have lost three straight. Dallas also won the season’s first meeting 4-0, and its No. 13 power-index ranking sits well above Buffalo’s No. 23. The key matchup is Dallas scorer Mikko Rantanen, with 19 points in 15 games, against Tage Thompson, who has 16 points and a team-high 10 goals in 16 games. Dallas’s .894 team save percentage tops Buffalo’s .869, making finishing chances against the Sabres’ defense a potential difference-maker.