Sabres, buyers at deadline, continue playoff push vs. Predators
With the trade deadline behind them, the visiting Nashville Predators and the Buffalo Sabres continue their sprint for the playoffs when they meet Saturday.
Buffalo, fighting for the lead in the Atlantic Division and looking like it will end a 14-year playoff drought, was active this week as it added four players.
Nashville, trying to hang on in the Western Conference wild-card race, made one move.
Riding a five-game winning streak, the Sabres' new faces include forward Sam Carrick, acquired from the New York Rangers, and defensemen Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn, who came over in a trade with the Winnipeg Jets.
Carrick, who had 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 60 games for New York while winning 53.9% of his faceoffs, will be Buffalo's fourth-line center while Stanley and Schenn provide defensive depth.
And just before Friday's deadline, the Sabres traded for Jets forward Tanner Pearson.
"It's way more exciting to be on this side of it than selling," defenseman Mattias Samuelsson said Friday. "... To be honest, no one in this room really cares if we trade a pick or two, so it's nice to get some new faces in here and some new energy. It's fun. It's good for morale, for sure."
Carrick could join the team in time for Saturday's game.
The Predators, meanwhile, sent forward Michael Bunting to the Dallas Stars on Thursday in exchange for Seattle's third-round pick in the 2026 draft. The team traded forwards Michael McCarron and Cole Smith and defenseman Nick Blankenburg for draft picks and an AHL player earlier in the week.
"We're still there making a playoff push," Nashville defenseman Roman Josi said. "You see a lot of guys go (in trades) that meant a lot to this team. We're a tight group. We've been through a lot together, even this year with the way that we started and then came back and we battled."
Buffalo opens a five-game homestand after a 5-1 win at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday. Josh Norris and Owen Power each had a goal and an assist and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 27 saves.
"We got it going pretty good," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. "A lot of special teams, a lot of choppiness through the whole game. Back and forth with special teams was a big part of it."
Tage Thompson (assist) extended his career-high point streak to nine games (five goals, five assists).
Buffalo has outscored opponents 19-8 over its past five games.
The Predators snapped a three-game losing streak (0-2-1) on Thursday with a 6-3 home win against the Boston Bruins. Matthew Wood scored twice, Filip Forsberg had a goal and two assists and Juuse Saros made 20 saves.
Nashville scored four times in the second period to take a 5-1 lead.
"Our team is pretty battle-tested," Nashville coach Andrew Brunette said. "Nothing they do really surprises me. I thought everybody from our leaders grabbing it like they have all year and our young kids brought some energy. It was a good synergy (Thursday). Proud of the group."
Konsta Helenius had a goal and two assists when the Sabres beat the Predators 5-3 in Nashville in the team's first meeting on Jan. 20.