Tampa Bay Lightning (48-22-6) at Buffalo Sabres (46-23-8)
Puck Drop: 7:00 PM | KeyBank Center | Buffalo, New York
TV: NHL Network, MSG-B
Radio: WGR 550
Know Your Opponent
Tampa Bay Lightning
Record: 48-22-6 | 102 PTS
Division Ranking: 1st in Atlantic Division
Last Game: 3-1 Win vs Boston Bruins
PP: 14th (21.7%) | Sabres Rank: 15th (20.8%)
PK: 4th (82.3%) | Sabres Rank: 5th (82.1%)
What to Watch
1. Welcome to the Thunderdome
The last time these two teams faced off they put on a show. Tampa Bay tried to bully the Sabres and re-establish their Atlantic division dominance. Buffalo nearly lost their way after all the post-whistle nonsense but recovered to secure a regulation win. Stanley watched from the press box due to post-trade immigration delays and sounded like he was taking notes for this game when he joined the broadcast booth. Sequels rarely live up to the original but there is likely going to be some fireworks in Buffalo. Sabres fans have yet to celebrate with their team after they officially ended the 14-year playoff drought on Saturday, and the Beer Sabre will return for the night. The Sabres should feed off the energy of the crowd to give them a boost.
2. Fight for Home Ice
In most years, achieving 100 points with 5 games left would usually secure home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. However, the Atlantic is exceptionally strong this year. As it stands, 3 of the top 6 teams in the league are Tampa Bay, Montreal, and Buffalo. Montreal’s recent hot streak has given them the edge on Buffalo for the 2nd seed with Tampa Bay leading the division by two points. The regulation loss by Montreal last night to the Islanders was huge. Buffalo can use any advantage they can get heading into the playoffs and now control their own destiny by being holding the tiebreaker against the Canadians even though their tied in points. The division crown would be nice but home ice advantage in the first round is crucial. They must get back on track against the Lightning or else they will likely open the first round in the unfriendly confines of Bell Centre or Benchmark International Arena. They need to focus on cleaning up their defensive zone. The turnovers have been killers in recent games and Tampa Bay’s offense is lethal when given opportunities.
3. 3rd Pair Scare
Lindy Ruff said the team needs to be stronger in front of the net. To that end, it looks as though he’s opted to roll out a third pair of Stanley and Schenn. While they do provide additional muscle to the lineup, they are a poor matchup against a highly skilled team like Tampa Bay. With last change, look for Ruff to shelter that pair as much as possible and lean on the top 4 against the Lightning. With margin for error limited, Sabres fans hope the decision to prioritize physicality over skill is the right call.
Projected Lineups
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
Krebs – Thompson* – Tuch
Benson – Norris – Doan
Zucker – McLeod – Quinn
Greenway – Dunne – Malenstyn
* “Just maintenance” for Tage Thompson, Lindy Ruff said. He expects him to play tonight.
Defense
Samuelsson – Dahlin
Byram – Power
Stanley – Schenn
Starter: Luukkonen
Tampa Bay Lightning
Forwards
Guentzel – Point – Kucherov
Bjorkstrand – Cirelli – Goncalves
Girgensons – Gourde – Holmberg
Perry – Paul – Chaffee
Defense
Moser – Raddysh
McDonagh – Cernak
D’Astous – Lilleberg
Starter: Vasilevskiy
Brandon Hagel (undisclosed injury) won’t play tonight, Lightning coach Jon Cooper said.