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Sabres Host the Senators in Thursday Night Matchup

Game 49

Buffalo Sabres (16-24-8) vs. Ottawa Senators (17-25-4)

Puck Drop: 7PM EST Key Bank Center Buffalo, NY

TV: MSG-B

Radio: WGR 550

SB Nation Ottawa Senators Blog: Silver Seven

Know Your Opponent

Ottawa Senators

Record: (17-25-4)

Last Game: 5-2 Loss to St. Louis

Division Ranking: 7th in the Atlantic Division

PP: 26th (16.90%)

PK:12th (80.85%)

What to Watch

1.  Can the Sabres Keep Their Winning Streak Going?

The Buffalo Sabres won their last two games, which was the first two-game winning streak the team managed to put together in almost two months. The last time the Sabres and Senators met, Ottawa shut them out in a 5-0 stinker on January 25th. Buffalo has not enjoyed a three-game winning streak since the beginning of the season, when the Sabres beat the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 19, 2021. It’s past time for the Blue and Gold to rack up some points in the standings.

2.   Keep the Same Top Scoring Lines

Sabres coaches have had an unfortunate tendency to constantly change the players in their offensive lines. Former coach Ralph Krueger was notorious for this, with predictable results. Coach Don Granato hasn’t been as bad of a line switcher, but COVID losses and injuries this season have forced him to move players around. With the Sabres tentatively healthy for the foreseeable future, let’s hope the coach keeps the same lines together. The Skinner-Thompson-Tuch and Oloffson-Krebs-Cozens lines have been clicking together offensively and scoring goals recently. Granato shouldn’t feel the need the tinker with something that’s working well for the team and the fans.

3.   Sabres Are a Good Bet in This Game

PlayPicks has the Sabres favored to win by a point. The oddsmakers at Dimers.com give Buffalo a 52% chance of winning, and favor the Sabres with even better odds than PlayPicks, with a 1.5 point spread. If Super Bowl LVI taught gamblers anything, it’s that it’s always smart to bet on the favorite, because they usually win.

Projected Lineups

Buffalo Sabres

Forwards

Jeff Skinner-Tage Thompson-Alex Tuch

Victor Olofsson-Peyton Krebs-Dylan Cozens

Kyle Okposo-Cody Eakin-Ramus Asplund

Anders Bjork-Mark Jankowski-John Hayden

Defense

Henri Jokiharju-Ramus Dahlin

Mark Pysyk-Jacob Bryson

Casey Fitzgerald-Mattias Samuelsson

Starting Goalie: Craig Anderson

Ottawa Senators

Forwards

Alex Formenton-Tim Stützle-Adam Gaudette

Brady Tkachuk-Nick Paul-Connor Brown

Zach Sanford-Chris Tierney-Parker Kelly

Tyler Ennis-Dylan Gambrell-Clark Bishop

Defense

Artem Zub-Nick Holden

Nikita Zaitsev-Victor Mete

Josh Brown-Erik Brannstrom

Starting Goalie: Matt Murray