Sabres at Oilers preview: Go West, young men
The Sabres take on their drafting nemesis, the Edmonton Oilers, tonight in Alberta.
Game #27
Buffalo Sabres (11-12-3) at
Edmonton Oilers (10-15-2)
Three Questions
1. Can the Sabres top line stay red hot?
The Sabres have found a bit of lightning in a bottle with their top line of O'Reilly, Reinhart, and Kane, and they've been a dominant force on the ice since getting put together. They've combined for 8 goals and 13 points in the Sabres last three games, and will go up against another highly talented top line tonight from the Oilers with Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, and Leon Draisaitl.
2. Will the O'Reilly brothers play together?
Yesterday, the Sabres recalled Cal O'Rellly from Rochester to come along on the team's west coast road trip. Cal is the leading scorer and captain for the Amerks this season, and would likely play fourth line center in place of David Legwand should Dan Bylsma want to bro out tonight. Should he play, it would be Cal O'Reilly's first game in the NHL since 2012.
3. Will the team score four or more yet again?
The Sabres have scored four or more goals in each of their last four games, something they haven't done as a franchise since 2007. Edmonton has given up 80 goals this season, sixth worst in the league, so there's a decent chance here for the Sabres to make it five in a row.
Projected BUF lines
McCabe - Franson
Projected EDM lines
Schultz - Gyrba