Game 53
Buffalo Sabres (23-22-7) vs. Colorado Avalanche (28-16-6)
Puck Drop: 7:00 PM EST | KeyBank Center | Buffalo, NY
TV: MSG-B
Radio: WGR 550
SB Nation Avalanche Blog: Mile High Hockey
Know Your Opponent
Colorado Avalanche
Record: 28-16-6
Last 10: 5-3-2
Division Ranking: 3rd in Central Division
Conference Ranking: 4th in Western Conference
PP: 22nd (18.9%)
PK: 21st (79.1%)
What to Watch
1. Stop the Goals
Buffalo has themselves a wonderful challenge on Tuesday night, when the host the Colorado Avalanche.
Colorado currently leads the Western Conference with 182 goals scored. Adjusting the stats for goals scored divided by games played, the Avalanche edge out the Florida Panthers with a 3.64 GF/GP for the league’s top spot.
On the flip side, Buffalo allows 3.08 goals per game. That puts Buffalo at 11th-worst in the league.
If Colorado starts skating downhill, this one could get ugly quick.
2. Hutton Back?
In two starts since Linus Ullmark went down with a lower-body injury, Carter Hutton has been stellar.
Hutton has allowed three goals on 52 shots, good for a .942 save percentage. That flies in the face of his season save percentage of .897.
As for Hutton’s goals allowed average, that also has improved these past two games. His season average of 3.13 has been right around 1.50.
Hutton’s resurgence has been a sight for sore eyes. Buffalo can only continue to hope that this comeback only grows.
3. Eichel Still Rules
After Jack Eichel’s game-winning overtime goal in Buffalo’s last game, he finds himself sitting at 65 points (31 goals, 34 assists) in 51 games.
Eichel continues to lead the way offensively for the Buffalo Sabres and still is on-pace to set career-highs in all categories.
Eichel’s 31 goals are a career-high. He is on-pace for a career-high 103 points and is on-pace to tie a career-high with 54 assists.
If only the rest of the lineup was as talented as Jack Eichel currently is.
Projected Lineups
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
Jimmy Vesey – Jack Eichel – Sam Reinhart
Conor Sheary – Marcus Johansson – Michael Frolik
Jeff Skinner – Johan Larsson – Evan Rodrigues
Zemgus Girgensons – Curtis Lazar – Jean-Sebastien Dea
Defense
Lawrence Pilut – Rasmus Ristolainen
Rasmus Dahlin – Henri Jokiharju
Brandon Montour – Colin Miller
Starting Goaltender: Carter Hutton (expected)
Colorado Avalanche
Forwards
Gabriel Landeskog – Nathan MacKinnon – Mikko Rantanen
Valeri Nichushkin – Nazem Kadri – Andre Burakovsky
Matt Calvert – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – JT Compher
Joonas Donskoi – Tyson Jost – Matt Nieto
Defense
Ryan Graves – Cale Makar
Samuel Girard – Erik Johnson
Ian Cole – Nikita Zadorov
Starting Goaltender: Philipp Grubauer (expected)