McLeod has 10 goals and 14 assists for the Sabres and is on pace to shatter the career highs of 12 goals and 30 points he set last year for

The Sabres were properly pleased with their 5-on-5 play but were as aghast as they should have been with their power play – which went 0 for 6 in the

McLeod will return to the lineup for the Sabres on Saturday, just in time to make his return to Rogers Place and play his former team, the Edmonton Oilers, for the first time. McLeod has missed the past three games with what he described as a “nagging” upper-body injury.

Matthew Coronato has two goals and four assists over the past 10 games. Rasmus Dahlin has six goals and 28 assists for the Sabres. Jason Zucker has scored six goals with four assists over the past 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Flames: 5-5-0, averaging 2.2 goals ...

Rasmus Dahlin has recorded 15 assists in his last 15 games. Dahlin is two assists away from tying Mike Ramsey for the second-most assists (256) by a Sabres defenseman alltime. Dahlin is one goal away from tying Ramsey for the second-most goals by a defenseman in franchise history (73).

Edmonton – 30-15-3 | 63 points – 2nd place in the Pacific Division Buffalo – James Reimer (1-5-1, 3.05 GAA, .891 save %) Edmonton – Stuart Skinner (18-11-3, 2.71 GAA, .899 save %)

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored two goals to help the Edmonton Oilers beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-2. Edmonton improved to 21-6-1 in its last 28 games.

The Buffalo Sabres fell 5-2 to the Calgary Flames on Thursday at Scotiabank Saddledome. Buffalo took a 2-1 lead with an early second-period surge, but the Flames fought back and successfully defended a one-goal lead for much of the final frame. They eventually secured the victory with two empty-net goals.

The Buffalo Sabres will attempt to build on their win in Vancouver when they face the Calgary Flames on Thursday night. Paul Hamilton has his game preview:

The Sabres earned a commanding 58-40 lead in 5-on-5 shot attempts and drew seven minor penalties, the first of which saw Jonathan Huberdeau open the scoring on a shorthanded breakaway. Rasmus Dahlin had attempted to break up a clearing attempt, but the puck banked off his stick and toward Huberdeau as he exited the Calgary zone.

A rebuild in the NHL can be a grueling process. With the patience needed to develop prospects, and decide whether to add or subtract to the team and what each offseason has to offer, there aren’t many situations for a team to be in that are more stressful than this.

Tage Thompson and JJ Peterka had hat tricks, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 25 saves as Buffalo rolled to a 7-2 win over Boston.