Buffalo Sabres Look to Snap Five-Game Losing Skid
The Buffalo Sabres look to snap a five-game losing streak tonight as they host the Nashville Predators at First Niagara Center for a 7 p.m. pre-Thanksgiving puck drop.
Tonight’s game is the first of two meetings between the Sabres and the Predators; they don’t get to see each other too often this season, but they’ll meet again this coming Saturday, November 28, to close out the season series.
While the Buffalo Sabres are on a losing streak, the Preds have a streak of their own going – and not a good one, either. They’ve been shutout in three consecutive games, including a pair of 4-0 losses to Columbus and Minnesota. Most recently, they were shutout by the New York Rangers 3-0 on Monday.
One way or another, something’s got to give tonight, and one of those streaks – potentially both – must end.
The Buffalo Sabres are, of course, coming off Monday’s 2-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues. Following tonight’s game, they’ll host the Carolina Hurricanes on Black Friday before traveling to Nashville for Saturday’s game.
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The goaltending matchup heading into tonight’s game appears to feature Linus Ullmark against Carter Hutton at the other end.
Ullmark is 4-4-0-1 this season with a 2.28 GAA and .925 save percentage, stepping in and stepping up under Robin Lehner‘s absence and making his North American debuts both in the AHL and NHL. What happens when Lehner is ready to come back is uncertain, but for now — Ullmark’s here to stay.
Hutton has appeared in just two games this season, with Pekka Rinne carrying most of the team’s load; Hutton’s record is 1-1-0-0 with a 3.44 GAA and .899 save percentage, but with only two games under his belt, it’s hard to use those figures as any sort of respectable comparison.
Other than Lehner, the Sabres are also missing defenseman Mike Weber, who practiced with the team on Tuesday, and Mark Pysyk, who’s missed the last three games with a bone bruise. Zemgus Girgensons, who has missed the last four games, will return to the lineup, while Evander Kane is a “possibility” after suffering a lower-body injury.
Players to watch tonight for the Buffalo Sabres include Ryan O’Reilly, who leads all NHL forwards in average ice time per game, and also leads the team in points. O’Reilly entered Tuesday’s games ranked fifth in the NHL in faceoff percentage and fourth in the league with 497 faceoffs taken.
Others to watch: Kane, who is on a four-game point streak against the Preds, and Rasmus Ristolainen, who entered Tuesday’s games ranked in the top 15 among NHL defenders in goals, points and multi-point games.
For the Predators, a few familiar faces to watch include former Buffalo Sabres forwards Paul Gaustad and Cody Hodgson. Meanwhile, James Neal leads the Preds with 15 points (9-6) in 20 games this season. Roman Josi, Mike Ribeiro, Filip Forsberg and Seth Jones each have nine assists on the season, while captain Shea Weber has a team-leading five power-play goals.
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You can catch tonight’s Buffalo Sabres game on MSG and Bell-TV as well as WGR-550 radio. The team’s annual food drive continues this evening, so please consider donating if you are able to!