Buffalo, NY (WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabers will look to avoid their first four-game losing streak when they host former teammate Casey Mittelstadt and the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday. The current streak has left the Sabers three points behind the Boston Bruins and in third place in the Atlantic Division with two games to play.

Buffalo is also three behind the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers in the battle for the Eastern Conference’s two wild card spots. Buffalo has a game in hand at the Flyers.

In the last seven games, goal scoring has been a problem with just 13 goals. That’s less than two per game. On the other hand, the Avalanche are the third-worst team in the NHL with 3.72 goals per game. Acquiring Alexander Georgiev from the Rangers didn’t work out the way they thought it would.

Colorado has given up eight goals twice this season against the Vegas Golden Knights and Tampa Bay. They also conceded six goals twice and five goals six times.

If Buffalo wants to score, they need to get Tage Thompson, JJ Peterka and Jack Quinn going. In his three games since his injury, Thompson didn’t score a point despite having 16 shots on goal. Peterka hasn’t scored a goal in eight games and Quinn hasn’t hit a goalie all season.

Buffalo is 7-4-1 in its last 12 games against the Avalanche. The Sabers are also scoring pretty good penalties lately at 20 of 22.

Bo Byram was traded to the Buffalo Sabers for Mittelstadt on March 6th. This is the first time that any of the players will face their old team.

Byram has really started to play very well for Buffalo and you can tell Lindy Ruff has noticed that with his time on the ice. Recently Byram had games where he went 32:34, 27:35 and 26:18. He is also sixth in the NHL among defensemen with 14 even strength points.

As a Saber, Mittelstadt played 339 games, scoring 62 goals and 124 assists and 186 points. Mittelstadt got off to a hot start for Colorado this season, scoring six goals and 10 assists for 16 points in his first 15 games. He has a goal and an assist for two points in his last 10 games. Mittelstadt reminded us that he had a streak throughout his career.

“I’ve been through periods like this in my career, and when these things come, I have a little bit of experience with them, so I’m trying to work through them quicker than I might have in the past, but the most important thing is for me “It’s important to maintain your self-confidence.”

Mittelstadt grew up around many Sabers and was Rasmus Dahlin’s first roommate. He said they all went out on Monday,

“I did, I went to dinner with some of them so it was nice to see them again, it’s been a while and there are a lot of really good memories with them, so friends for life for sure.”

When I asked Mittelstadt if his former teammates made him pay, he laughed and said:

“We’ll keep that a secret.”

Alex Tuch hoped for Mittelstadt’s return,

“It’ll be nice to see the guy,” Tuch said. “I’m sure he’s a little nervous because it’s never the easiest thing, but we love Casey and he’s been a great teammate here, he’s had a lot of success here and it was hard to see him go, but he will “It’s really fun to see him again.”

Mittelstadt isn’t at all surprised that Dahlin is the Sabres’ new captain. He said he saw how hard Dahlin worked and how much he cared for him and he thought he would be a perfect captain.

Mittelstadt was in Toronto when he found out from Kevyn Adams that he had been traded. He said:

“I was shocked, I maybe knew something was coming, but when that moment comes you’re definitely a little unprepared, but I think you know I was sad at the same time when I left but also excited.

“I’m not on social media too often, so I missed a lot of rumors and reports. I’m grateful for that and I remember thinking that if these are my last games here, I want to enjoy it.”

With Dahlin, Tage Thompson, Dylan Cozens, Owen Power, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Mattias Samuelsson all having signed long-term deals to form the core of the team, Mittelstadt knew he wouldn’t be a part of it. He said:

“I just got to the point where I was a little older and really grew up in Buffalo and I think I saw the signs of the contract situation a little bit too and that’s the business and there’s no hard feelings but if Looking back, I will cherish the friendships, especially the boys, because I will be friends with them for life.”

This is not the same Avalanche team you are used to. They are currently not even in the Western Conference playoffs and are two points behind the two wild card teams, the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames.

The Avalanche only have two points more than the Sabers and have lost 3 of 4 games. They are 12th in the league with an average of 3.20 goals per game and their power play is sixth at 27.2%. The penalty kill is the 29th in the NHL.

Nate MacKinnon is third in the league with seven goals and 29 assists (36 points). He leads the league in assists.

Mikko Rantanen is sixth in the NHL with 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points. Cale Makar is 12^Th with eight goals and 24 assists for 32 points.

Georgiev has gone 10 of 12 in six straight games. He is 7-7-0 with a 3.31 goals-against average and a save percentage of .875.

Colorado is 9-2-0 in its last 11 games with the Sabres.

Join us at the audition at 6 p.m. for “Schopp and the Bulldog” when you hear from Ruff, Tuch and Mittelstadt.