Sabres standings update into Olympic break has chance to end historic drought originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. The Buffalo Sabres wore their throwback uniforms on Thursday night in their final game before the Olympic break.

The Pittsburgh Penguins face the Buffalo Sabres Thursday at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET.

The Buffalo Sabres closed the pre-Olympic portion of their schedule with a 5-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night at KeyBank Center, despite a third-period push that briefly cut the deficit to one goal.

This will be the second of three matchups between the two teams, with the Penguins winning the first one 4-2 back on Nov. 26. The Sabres were 9-10-4 at the time, but a lot has changed since then. They have been mowing teams down for the last two months and are currently in a playoff spot with a 32-18-6 record.

The Sabres (.827) and Lightning (.833) entered the night with the NHL’s two best point percentages since Dec. 9. The matchup – the first of four this season between the two teams – lived up to the billing with four lead changes and chances throughout.

The Buffalo Sabres will look to shake off a pair of recent divisional losses when they play host to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Jason Zucker broke a tie on a power play at 5:31 of the third period and he Buffalo Sabres beat the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers 5-3 on Monday night. The Sabres have won six of seven and took over the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

The more rested Lightning had the bulk of the chances early, and they turned a Sabres giveaway into a Nikita Kucherov goal. Ellis was Buffalo’s best player as he made 12 saves in the first period, including five on high-danger chances, per Natural Stat Trick. The rookie goalie finished with 31 saves.

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The Buffalo Sabres have the perfect opportunity to get a major piece of business done during the NHL's Olympic hiatus.