The Sabres begin the month of November with a fairly easy week. After beating the New York Islanders on Sunday night to improve to 5-7, the blue and gold will have just two more games over the coming six days, and one against an opponent they should already be very familiar with.
Thursday, November 5 – Sabres vs. Lightning, 7pm
The Sabres and Lightning have already played twice this season, with Tampa Bay winning both games. The first won was a dominant Lightning win, but the second game was much closer, and so simple logic dictates that this game must be a Sabres win. The Lightning haven’t been as dominant this season as they were last year when they won the Eastern Conference, sitting at just 6-5-2, and with a goal differential of -1. The Sabres are coming off of back-to-back wins, and will have three days to rest before this contest.
Saturday, November 7 – Sabres vs. Canucks, 1pm
The Canucks are coming East on the weekend to play the Sabres for the first time this year. Our old pal Ryan Miller has been playing well for Vancouver, sporting a solid .923 save percentage while leading he Canucks to a 5-2-4 record. Meanwhile, the rest of the Canucks roster is what you expect, with names like Sedin, Burrows, Sutter, and Sedin leading the team in points while they sit at seventh in the Western Conference. The early afternoon start could muck with Vancouver’s internal west coast clocks, though they will have two days off before they come to Buffalo.
Eastern Conference Standings
1. Montreal, 22 pts
2. Washington, 16 pts
3. NY Rangers, 16 pts
4. NY Islanders, 15 pts
5. Pittsburgh, 14 pts
6. Tampa Bay, 14 pts
7. Boston, 13 pts
8. New Jersey, 13 pts
9. Florida, 12 pts
10. Ottawa, 12 pts
11. Detroit, 11 pts
12. Philadelphia, 10 pts
13. Carolina, 10pts
14. Buffalo, 10 pts (5-7-0)
15. Toronto, 4 pts
16. Columbus, 4pts