The Buffalo Sabres look to right the ship today in a matinee against the New Jersey Devils. The Sabres have looked totally lost since returning from their forced break. In contrast, the Devils have won both games since returning to play from their COVID pause.
The Devils are coming off back-to-back wins during the week. They beat the Rangers 5-2 and the Bruins 3-2. Two impressive wins for a team coming off a two-week break. The Sabres have not found the win column since their return to play, and they look to change that today.
Buffalo will face off against the Devils in three of their next four matchups, so they will become very familiar with New Jersey over the next week of games. The Sabres have played New Jersey twice this season, going 1-1-0 in those two games.
The Sabres have been in an awful offensive slump since returning to play. Buffalo has only scored two goals through the nine periods of hockey they have played since resuming their season. Both of those goals came from Victor Olofsson on power play opportunities. So the Sabres have not scored an even-strength goal in three games.
The Sabres are still waiting on some players to be ready to return from being in the NHL’s health and safety protocol. But it looks like the team may be getting rookie forward Dylan Cozens back. Cozens skated as part of the second line in practice yesterday, so all signs point for him returning to the lineup.
Buffalo is expected to start Linus Ullmark in net. The Devils will likely start red-hot Mackenzie Blackwood. Blackwood has a 4-0-1 record on the year and has allowed just under two goals per game.
Date: February 20th
Time: 12:30 PM
Where: Prudential Center
TV Broadcast: MSG & NHL Network
Radio: Sabres Radio Network (channels vary in different cities, check the list here)
Streaming: fuboTV
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