Game #42

Ottawa Senators (14-22-0) vs. Buffalo Sabres (17-20-4)

Puck Drop: 7:00 PM EST | KeyBank Center | Buffalo, NY

TV: MSG-B

Radio: WGR550

Know Your Opponent

Ottawa Senators

Record: 14-22-0

Last Game: 6-3 loss to Calgary Flames

Division Ranking: 8th in the Atlantic Division

PP: 24th (16.9%)

PK: 31st (71.4%)

What to Watch

1) Skinner Out

Jeff Skinner missed practice Wednesday, and on Thursday morning, the team announced that he’s out on a week-to-week basis with an upper-body injury. It’s a big loss for the Sabres, as Skinner has been one of the team’s best players this season. He leads Buffalo with 17 goals and has added 16 assists for 33 points, second-most on the team, in 38 games played.

2) Struggling Sens

As much as the Sabres have had an up-and-down season, the Senators have fared even worse. Ottawa comes into Buffalo on Thursday night riding a four-game losing streak. Their last win, in fact, came against the Sabres, a 5-1 win on December 31, 2023. In the games since, they’ve been outscored 19-8 and lost their entire Western road trip (Vancouver, Seattle, Edmonton, Calgary).

The Senators are the worst team in the Eastern Conference with 28 points, and are 30th in the NHL overall. Only the Chicago Blackhawks (12-27-2) and San Jose Sharks (9-29-3) are worse-off this season.

3) The Leaders

Tim Stützle leads the Senators with 34 points in 36 games this season, including 27 assists. Brady Tkachuk leads the team with 17 goals; others to keep an eye out for include Claude Giroux (32 points), Drake Batherson (31 points) and Jakob Chychrun (26 points).

Casey Mittelstadt leads the Sabres with 35 points, including 24 assists. Aside from the injured Skinner, a trio of players lead Buffalo with 12 goals each: Rasmus Dahlin, JJ Peterka and Tage Thompson.

Projected Lineups

Buffalo Sabres

Forwards

Victor Olofsson – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch

JJ Peterka – Dylan Cozens – Jack Quinn

Jordan Greenway – Casey Mittelstadt – Zach Benson

Zemgus Girgensons – Peyton Krebs – Eric Robinson

Defense

Rasmus Dahlin – Mattias Samuelsson

Owen Power – Erik Johnson

Connor Clifton – Henri Jokiharju

Goaltenders

Devon Levi, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Ottawa Senators

Forwards

Brady Tkachuk – Josh Norris – Mathieu Joseph

Claude Giroux – Tim Stutzle – Drake Batherson

Dominik Kubalik – Ridly Greig – Vladimir Tarasenko

Parker Kelly – Mark Kastelic – Zack Macewen

Defense

Thomas Chabot – Travis Hamonic

Jakob Chychrun – Jake Sanderson

Erik Brannstrom – Jacob-Bernard Docker

Goaltenders

Anton Forsberg, Joonas Korpisalo