Main storyline: The Buffalo Sabres (16-34-3) are back in the win column with a victory Saturday night over Lindy Ruff and the Dallas Stars. On Sunday, the Sabres look to get another win in consecutive days with an early matchup with the New York Islanders (33-18-1) at the First Niagara Center.
Season series: Sunday’s matchup is the second of three games between the Sabres and Islanders. The first game was played on December 27 when the Sabres beat the Islanders 4-3 in a shootout. This was the last win the Sabres had in the 2014 calendar year, and the last win before the team went on its franchise record 14-game losing streak. The final game between the two clubs will come April 4 when the Sabres travel to Long Island for the final time before the Islanders head to the Barclays Center to start the 2015-16 season.
Where they stand: With Buffalo’s win and Edmonton’s loss to Toronto on Saturday, the Sabres now only sit two points out of 29th place in the NHL standings. However, the Sabres still remain in the bottom of the league in a majority of the team statistics. For the Islanders, after a red-hot start to its season, the team has slowed down a bit. The team currently sits fifth in the Eastern Conference standings, and second in the Metropolitan Division just one point behind the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Recent performance: It was sweet revenge for the Sabres against former head coach Lindy Ruff and the Stars on Saturday night. The Sabres held a 1-0 lead after the first period, but quickly jumped to a 3-0 lead in the second period. After a late rally by the Stars, Jhonas Enroth shut the door by making 38 saves on 40 shots faced to help preserve the 3-2 win for the Sabres. For the Islanders, the team comes off a loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon at the TD Bank North Garden in Boston John Tavares got the Islanders ahead early, but the Bruins responded quickly to tie the game 1-1. The game remained tied until the 12:16 mark when Loui Ericsson gave Boston the lead, and the Bruins would go on to hold onto the lead and win the game 2-1.
Buffalo notes: The Buffalo Sabres probably played on its better games of the season on Sunday, even though they were outshot 40-24 in the game. Buffalo’s offense seemed to be firing on all cylinders in the first two periods, and the defense was able to support Jhonas Enroth in the third period to help get him the win. Chris Stewart had an assist on all three goals yesterday, while Zemgus Girgensons added a goal and assist in the win. For Sunday’s game, Marcus Foligno is going to return for the first time since December 21 when Foligno broke his hand in a fight. He will replace Cody Hodgson in the lineup, as Hodgson will sit as a healthy scratch. Jhonas Enroth is going to earn a well deserved break on Sunday as Michal Neuvirth will start in net for the Sabres.
Opponent notes: The Islanders have slowed its pace down following a great start to the 2014-15 NHL campaign. In the last 10 games, the Islanders have went 5-5-0 and have had problems winning against teams they should probably win against. In addition, the Islanders have the worst penalty kill percentage in the NHL, behind the Sabres who is in 29th place. However, the Islanders have been known to produce a ton of shots on goal, averaging the second best shots per game stat in the NHL (33.3). However, a huge reason for the Islanders success this season has been the resurgence of goaltender Jaroslav Halak. Halak is fourth in the NHL in wins with 27, and has been the backbone for the Islanders in net. Halak also has four shutouts on the season, and was selected for the All-Star game two weeks ago.
Conclusion: The Sabres look to make it two straight wins in consecutive days against the Islanders. Opening face-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. and the game can be seen on MSG Network.