Sabres Host the Senators in Thursday Night Matchup
<em>Buffalo is hoping to extend their winning streak to three games.</em>
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