Main storyline: The Buffalo Sabres (16-35-3) are on game four of a five game homestand, and have come away so far with only one win. On Tuesday, the Sabres look to get another win in a matchup with the Ottawa Senators (20-22-9) at the First Niagara Center. This game is the game that was moved in November due to the Snovember storm that hit Western New York.
Season series: Tuesday night’s matchup is the third of four games between the two teams. The first game was on December 15 in Buffalo when the Sabres won 5-4 in a shootout thanks to Matt Moulson’s lone goal in the shootout. The second came two weeks later in Ottawa in a 5-2 loss to the Senators. Bobby Ryan scored a hat-trick in the loss, which was the first of 14 straight games for the Sabres. The final match between the two teams will come on March 6 in Ottawa.
Where they stand: The Sabres still sit dead last in the NHL standings, but now sit four points behind the 29th place Edmonton Oilers, who beat the New Jersey Devils last night 2-1. Ottawa sits second last in the Atlantic Division ahead of the Sabres and just one point behind the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ottawa sits 14 points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 31 games remaining in its schedule.
Recent performance: After beating Lindy Ruff and the Dallas Stars on Saturday, the Sabres looked to grab two straight at home against the New York Islanders. Buffalo fell behind 3-0 in the second period, but stormed back to make the game 3-2 heading into the second intermission. However in the third period, the Sabres only put up two shots of ten shots overall, and failed to comeback in the loss. For Ottawa, the team has been losers of three straight, most recently on Saturday night in a 4-1 loss to Columbus.
Buffalo notes: Buffalo was only able to put up 10 shots in a game for the second time this season against the Islanders. The first time was back on October 28 when the Sabres lost to Toronto 4-0. It has been a main story line since the end of December with the Sabres having problems playing a full 60-minutes of hockey. Buffalo’s biggest problem has probably been finishing and closing out the third period. Last game, Cody Hodgson was a scratch against the Islanders as Marcus Foligno returned to the lineup. It appears he will be out once again as a healthy scratch for the Sabres. On defense, it seems as though Tyson Strachan will sit in favor of Andrej Meszaros. Jhonas Enroth is expected to get the start after getting the night off against the Islanders.
Opponent notes: The Senators have had a rough go of it all season, and have gone 8-12-4 since the firing of head coach Paul MacLean. The Senators have virtually fallen out of the playoff hunt, and continue to fall in the NHL standings. The Senators are towards the bottom 10 in the league in most statistics in the league, but somehow find ways to win games with injuries, and inconsistencies amongst its players. Bobby Ryan leads the Senators in terms of points with 37 (14 goals and 23 assists), and captain Erik Karlsson is right behind Ryan with 35 points on the season (12 goals and 23 assists). Chris Phillips is not expected to play Tuesday night for the Senators, and could be out week-to-week with an undisclosed injury. Craig Anderson is out for the Senators as well with a hand injury. Cody Ceci and J.P. Pageau are expected to be the healthy scratches for the Senators, while Robin Lehner is expected to start in net.
Conclusion: Buffalo is looking to get another win against the Senators before having a five day break until Sunday’s game against Philadelphia. Opening face-off is set for 7pm on Tuesday, and the game can be seen on MSG Network.