Game #28

Buffalo Sabres (6-17-4) vs. Colorado Avalanche (12-11-2)

Puck drop: 9:00 p.m. EST | Pepsi Center | Denver, CO

TV: MSG

Radio: WGR 550

SB Nation Avalanche blog: Mile High Hockey

What to Watch

1. A few debuts to check out.

Evan Rodrigues will make his season debut for the Sabres tonight after being called up yesterday. Also, newly acquired Scott Wilson will make his debut as well. Conveniently enough it looks like both players will be on the same line for their debuts.

2. Grab some popcorn, Z.

Zemgus Girgensons is the odd man out tonight in Denver. He’ll be a healthy scratch as he’s putting together another poor season from a production standpoint.

3. Did they receive the message?

It’ll be interesting to see if yesterday’s activity caught the attention of the team. Will we see the same club that just goes through the motions or a little energy tonight?

Know Your Opponent

1. Former Sabres prospects in the lineup.

Two big pieces from the Ryan O’Reilly trade will be in the Colorado lineup tonight. J.T. Compher is one of those players. The 22-year-old forward has four goals and eight points in 19 games this season. The other is defenseman Nikita Zadorov who has three goals and five points in 20 games. Zadorov has been in and out of the lineup as he still battles through some consistency issues.

2. No Landy

Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog will be serving the final game of his four-game suspension tonight. He was punished for a cross-check to the face of Calgary Flames winger Matthew Tkachuk

3. Coming back to earth.

Colorado got out to a good start, but are falling back to earth. They’ve lost two straight and three of their last five. Including a 7-2 defeat at the hands of the Dallas Stars on Sunday night.

Projected Lineup

9 Evander Kane – 15 Jack Eichel – 29 Jason Pominville

67 Benoit Pouliot – 90 Ryan O’Reilly – 24 Hudson Fasching

20 Scott Wilson – 71 Evan Rodrigues – 21 Kyle Okposo

17 Jordan Nolan – 22 Johan Larsson – 23 Sam Reinhart

6 Marco Scandella – 55 Rasmus Ristolainen

19 Jake McCabe – 47 Zach Bogosian

4 Josh Gorges – 93 Victor Antipin

Starting Goaltender: 40 Robin Lehner