The Buffalo Sabres are no doubt looking for a win tonight as they face the Tampa Bay Lightning. That could prove to be quite a challenge, as the Lightning have opened their season winning three of their first five games.
The Lightning are currently tied for second in the Eastern Conference with six points, along with Florida, Detroit, Ottawa and the New York Rangers. The only team with more points: Montreal, who’s gone undefeated in five games. The Lightning have started off the year with a plus-3 goal differential.
The Sabres have won one of four games so far this season, with a minus-4 goal differential at this point. They’re currently listed as 13th in the Eastern Conference.
No doubt that Tampa Bay is a challenging team to face. They’re competitive, and with strong players like Steven Stamkos, are quite a force to be reckoned with. The absences of guys like Victor Hedman (injury) and Nikita Nesterov (suspension) could, however, help give the Sabres a boost in Saturday night’s game.
Without further ado, here are the fan chatter picks for this evening’s matchup.
1) Who opens the scoring for the Buffalo Sabres this evening? We’ll give you 10 points if you get this one correct.
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2) How many shots will Jack Eichel have in tonight’s game? The more you shoot, the more likely you are to score (unless, of course, you score by deflections or just plain weird, flukey goals). Eichel is coming off that stupendous goal against the Blue Jackets, but now he’s got to follow it up with some strong performances. How many shots will he have? Get it right & we’ll give you 15 points + the amount of shots he had.
3) How many points will Steven Stamkos score? Will the Sabres be able to contain him to no points at all? Will he get a hat trick? WHO KNOWS? But if you get this one right, we’ll give you 7 points.
4) What will Rasmus Ristolainen‘s total ice time be? Minutes and seconds — if you get it exactly right, on the nose, we’ll give you 150 points (because let’s face it, that would be incredible). If you’re correct within 30 seconds one way or the other, we’ll give you 20 points. You’re right within 1 minute, 10 points your way.
5) Bonus question: nine other games on tap tonight for the NHL. Name the winner of each game; 5 points for each correct answer, 60 points if you get them all right. DET vs. MTL; NSH vs. OTT; BUF vs. TBL; DAL vs. FLA; TOR vs. PIT; CAR vs. WSH; SJS vs. NYI; CBJ vs. CHI; EDM vs. CGY; BOS vs. ARZ.
6) Second bonus question: how many points will Phil Kessel get against his former team in tonight’s Pens/Leafs game? 10 points for this one.
Next: Sabres Opponent Outlook: Lightning
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