Buffalo Sabres (11-14-4) at Edmonton Oilers (13-11-5)

Puck Drop: 9:00 PM | Rodgers Place | Edmonton, AB

TV: MSG-B

Radio: WGR 550

Know Your Opponent

Edmonton Oilers

Record: 13-11-5 | 31 PTS

Division Ranking: 4th in Pacific Division

Last Game: 6-2 Win vs Jets

PP: T1st (33.3%) | Sabres Rank: 13th (19.1%)

PK: 17th (80.8%) | Sabres Rank: 3rd (85.5%)

What to Watch

1.  Roster Squeeze

Buffalo received bad news on the injury front this morning. Lindy Ruff announced that Jason Zucker picked up an injury in last night’s loss to Calgary. This complicates their lineup decisions tonight. They have not wanted to play Greenway in back-to-back situations given his struggles to return to full health. They sent down Ostlund to Rochester who cannot be recalled until he plays an AHL game (Amerks play Utica tomorrow). Dunne will have to come in for Zucker but what the lines look like will be anyone’s guess. Without a roster move, the Sabres have 18 healthy skaters including Greenway. Maybe one of their goalies can skate out?

2. Oilers Offense

The Oilers have had an inconsistent year but seem to be hitting their stride offensively. Their powerplay is unsurprisingly tied for the top unit in the league. They have scored 15 goals in their last 2 games with their dynamic duo of McDavid and Draisaitl each have 6 points in their last two games. With the Sabres haven surrendered at least 4 goals in their last 3 games, Edmonton will be looking to open the game up and take advantage of their superior offensive firepower.

3. Goaltending Weakness

For years, the Achillies heel of the Oilers has been their goaltending. Starter Stuart Skinner has had a few good games in a row (3 goals against on 71 shots), but you never know which Skinner will show up. The Sabres need to attack the net and force him to make quality saves. If Buffalo can get to him early, they could force his Swiss cheese alter ego that has Oilers fans pulling their hair out.

Projected Lineups

Buffalo Sabres

Forwards

Greenway – Thompson – Tuch

Benson – Norris – Doan

Dunne – McLeod – Quinn

Malenstyn – Krebs – Kozak

Defense

Samuelsson – Dahlin

Byram – Timmins

Power – Bryson

Starter: Ellis

Edmonton Oilers

Forwards

Nugent-Hopkins – McDavid – Hyman

Podkolzin – Draisaitl – Savoie

Janmark– Henrique – Mangiapane

Frederic – Lazar – Tomasek

Defense

Ekholm – Bouchard

Nurse – Regula

Kulak – Emberson

Starter: Skinner