Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – This is the first time in my career of covering the Buffalo Sabres that I’m previewing a game where both teams are coming off 7-0 losses.
The Sabres lost on Sunday to the Boston Bruins on home ice, while later that day, the Nashville Predators got run out of Madison Square Garden by the New York Rangers.
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In January, the Sabres walked into the "Music City" and went home with a 5-3 victory. Jeff Skinner, Dylan Cozens and Victor Olofsson staked Buffalo to a 3-1 second period lead, but let Nashville back in the game in the third to tie the game, 3-3.
Kyle Okposo then scored a shorthanded goal, and Jack Quinn added an insurance goal, while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was stellar in that game with 38 saves.
Tuesday’s morning skate was optional, but head coach Don Granato said Jordan Greenway isn’t ready to play yet due to injury. That will allow for Tyson Jost to return to the lineup.
My wild guess is Craig Anderson will be in goal for Buffalo, but no confirmation was given from Granato. Anderson is 10-10-2 this season with a 2.89 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage. Anderson has given up 15 goals in his last four starts.
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Tage Thompson is still stuck on 42 goals with no goals in eight games.
Since coming back from injury and scoring two goals in Toronto, Alex Tuch doesn’t have a point in three games. Jeff Skinner also has all zeros in three games.
Casey Mittelstadt started playing pretty well in early February, but lately it slipped again. He has points in just one out of seven games, and has one goal in 16 games.
Because of trades and injuries, the Preds have quite a few players up from the Milwaukee Admirals in the AHL.
Nashville has also been a streaky team lately. The Predators have recently won five out of six, and then five out of seven. However, they're now on a three-game losing streak.
Out injured are Ryan Johansen (13 games), Roman Josi (missed one game), Filip Forsberg (18 games), Ryan McDonagh (four games) and Mark Borowiecki (61 games). McDonagh took the morning skate on Tuesday, so he may play.
Josi is Nashville’s leading scorer with 18 goals and 41 assists for 59 points.
On a recent road trip, Nashville came home 4-1-1. Two of those wins came against the Florida Panthers and Los Angeles Kings.
Leading goal scorer Matt Duchene has gone ice cold for Nashville with no points in six games, and one point in nine.
All-Star Juuse Saros is one of the few goalies that plays almost every night. He’s 26-19-7 this season with a 2.75 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage. Saros has played in five-straight games, including 50:51 on Sunday against the Rangers.
Kevin Lankinen started that game and gave up four goals on five shots in just 9:09 of work.
Rasmus Asplund makes his return to Buffalo after being traded back at the NHL Trade Deadline on March 3. In six games with his new team, Asplund has no points.
Asplund is just a class human being. Speaking with him after the morning skate, he said he appreciated general manager Kevyn Adams giving him a chance to go to Nashville and get an opportunity to play.
However, Asplund did put everything squarely on his own shoulders. He said he wasn't playing up to the standard that he had set for himself last season. If he had been, he would've been in the lineup more often.
Another former Sabres forward Mark Jankowski has five goals and three assists for eight points in 36 games.
Join Schopp and the Bulldog for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. ET when they’ll be joined by Granato, Devon Levi and Anderson.
