Game 54

Buffalo Sabres (14-32-7) vs. New York Islanders (31-16-5)

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

TV: MSG-B

Radio: WGR 550

SB Nation Islanders Blog: Lighthouse Hockey

Know Your Opponent

New York Islanders

Record: (31-16-5)

Division Ranking: 4th in East Division

PP: 24th (18.3%)

PK: 5th (83.4%)

What to Watch

1. The House never loses

Michael Houser is set to make his second NHL start tonight. Last night he made 34 saves to earn his first NHL win in his first start. He made some key saves like a back-door blocker save, allowing the Sabres to come back and score four unanswered goals.

The Sabres goalies that are out:

• Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (lower-body)
• Carter Hutton (lower body)
• Dustin Tokarski (family matter)
• Linus Ullmark (lower body)/

The Sabres have been through the goaltending carousel this season 🎠 pic.twitter.com/sTpQLLfi64

— The Charging Buffalo (@TheChargingBUF) May 4, 2021

2. Final home game

Tonight will be the final home games for the Sabres this season. It didn’t really matter whether the Sabres were on the road, or at the KeyBank Center, they played the exact same. Their home record was 7-16-4 compared to their away record of 7-16-3. This was a tough year, there was a head coaching change, almost set a new NHL losing streak record and a few trades. But like every Buffalo fan every year, I am still optimistic about next season.

3. Colin Miller back in

Colin Miller will replace Will Borgen on defense tonight. He will most likely play alongside Jacob Bryson.

Projected Lineup

Buffalo Sabres

Forwards

Jeff Skinner - Sam Reinhart - Victor Olofsson

Anders Bjork - Dylan Cozens - Arttu Ruotsalainen

Rasmus Asplund - Casey Mittelstadt - Tage Thompson

Riley Sheahan - Cody Eakin - Drake Caggiula

Defense

Mattias Samuelsson - Rasmus Ristolainen

Rasmus Dahlin - Henri Jokiharju

Jacob Bryson - Colin Miller

Starting Goaltender: Michael Houser

New York Islanders

Forwards

Leo Komarov - Matthew Barzal - Jordan Eberle

Anthony Beauvillier - Brock Nelson - Josh Bailey

Kyle Palmieri - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Oliver Wahlstrom

Matt Martin - Casey Cizikas - Cal Clutterbuck

Defense

Adam Pelech - Ryan Pulock

Nick Leddy - Scott Mayfield

Andy Greene - Noah Dobson

Starting Goaltender: Ilya Sorokin (unconfirmed)