Game #82
Buffalo Sabres (34-36-11) at
New York Islanders (45-26-9)
Three Questions
1. Which of the rookies will play tonight?
With no morning skate today, we’re not sure if Cole Schneider or Evan Rodrigues will play tonight. It’s doubtful that Jason Kasdorf will get another shot, as the team really should let Chad Johnson take the final game, and we already know that Zach Bogosian is out so Casey Nelson should return, but the rest of the lineup remains a mystery.
2. Will O’Reilly, Eichel, Reinhart, or Ristolainen reach a magic number tonight?
By magic numbers, I mean a nice round number in their points column. With one point tonight, Ryan O’Reilly would hit 60 on the season. Team-leader in goals Jack Eichel needs one more tally to get to 25, and Sam Reinhart needs two to reach the same number, while a goal for Rasmus Ristolainen would give him 10 on the year.
3. Getting to .500 is out, but can the Sabres crack 80 points tonight?
Right now, Buffalo has 79 points this year, and a win or loss in overtime would get them to 80 points. That’s a huge improvement from last season, when the team had a feeble 54 points all season. C’mon boys, give us an “8” in the tens place to take with us in to the off season.
Projected BUF lines
Colaiacovo – Pysyk