Game #49
Buffalo Sabres (14-30-3) at
Edmonton Oilers (12-27-9)
Three Questions
1. Just what will this game look like?
I’m always fascinated when two really bad teams play each other – sometimes you get boring, mistake-prone hockey, but sometimes, bad defense and goaltending can actually make for some of the most fun games to watch. Which will it be tonight, a slog through the trough of awfulness, or a back-and-forth nailbiter?
2. Can Tyler Ennis keep his point streak going in his hometown?
Ennis has five points in his last three games, and gets to visit family and friends tonight as he returns home to Edmonton. The Sabres need all the offense they can muster, and Tyler will be looking to impress the locals.
3. Will there be any tanking shenanigans tonight?
Taylor Hall is day-to-day with a bone bruise, but something tells me today won’t be the day he comes back. Nikita Zadorov is out tonight thanks to his extended vacation, which means a cardboard cutout of Richard Smehlik Benoit or Meszaros will be on defense. Will we see Tyler Ennis come down with a last-minute flu bug? Will Drew Stafford’s wife miraculously give birth to another baby just weeks after her first? Will Ted Nolan call out line changes in Pig Latin? Or will we just see two terrible teams trying their best?
Projected BUF lines
Moulson – Girgensons – Ennis
Flynn – Mitchell – Gionta
Stewart – Hodgson – Stafford
Deslauriers – Ellis – Kaleta
Gorges – Myers
Meszaros – Ristolainen
Weber – Strachan
Goal: Jhonas Enroth