Buffalo Plays Host to New York Islanders
The Sabres return home to open a quick homestand, hosting the Islanders.
Game 48
Buffalo Sabres (15-24-8) vs. New York Islanders (17-19-6)
Puck Drop: 7:00 PM EST | KeyBank Center | Buffalo, NY
TV: MSG
Radio: WGR 550
SB Nation Islanders Blog: Lighthouse Hockey
Know Your Opponent
New York Islanders
Record: (17-19-6) | 40 PTS
Division Ranking: 6th in Metropolitan
PP: 21st (18.4%)
PK: 9th (82.7%)
1. Jeff Skinner, Goal Scoring King
Last time out, Jeff Skinner put up a career-high four goals against the Montreal Canadiens.
Skinner’s regular season total pushed to 20 goals, marking the eighth time in his career that he has surpassed that season goal total.
Skinner continues to thrive in Don Granato’s system, which is impressive considering how much of struggle Skinner had fitting in under former head coach Ralph Krueger.
Safe to say that the goal scoring demise of Jeff Skinner has been greatly exaggerated.
2. A Career Milestone
On Tuesday night, defenseman Mark Pysyk will dress for and play in his 500th career National Hockey League game.
Pysyk was a healthy scratch for the Sabres last game against the Montreal Canadiens and while no evidence supports this thought process, it appears that Pysyk was held out simply so he could play his 500th game in front of the Sabres faithful.
Either way, Pysyk has played 499 games as of this preview - 292 with the Florida Panthers, 171 with the Buffalo Sabres (in two stints) and 36 with the Dallas Stars.
3. Hanging On For Dear Life
While the Buffalo Sabres expectations for a playoff berth heading into this season might have been considered a pipe dream, expectations for a playoff berth were very high for the New York Islanders.
Heading into the 2021-22 NHL season, the Islanders had made three straight postseason appearances.
While trying to remain as optimistic as possible on behalf of Islanders fans, things do not look to promising for this season.
Four teams in the Metropolitan Division already have 60+ points each. With three of those teams being locked into a playoff berth, that pushes the fourth team into the first of two Eastern Conference wild card berths.
New York has 40 points in 42 games heading into tonight’s matchup with the Sabres. The Islanders find themselves chasing down the Boston Bruins, who have 57 points in 46 games.
Projected Lineups
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
Jeff Skinner - Tage Thompson - Alex Tuch
Peyton Krebs - Dylan Cozens - Victor Olofsson
Rasmus Asplund - Cody Eakin - Kyle Okposo
Anders Bjork - Mark Jankowski - John Hayden
Defense
Rasmus Dahlin - Henri Jokiharju
Mattias Samuelsson - Casey Fitzgerald
Jacob Bryson - Mark Pysyk
Starter: Craig Anderson
New York Islanders
Forwards
Anders Lee - Mathew Barzal - Cal Clutterbuck
Anthony Beauvillier - Brock Nelson - Josh Bailey
Zach Parise - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Oliver Wahlstrom
Matt Martin - Casey Cizikas - Kyle Palmieri
Defense
Adam Pelech - Scott Mayfield
Zdeno Chara - Noah Dobson
Sebastian Aho - Ryan Pulock
Starter: Ilya Sorokin