Game Preview | 5 things to know ahead of Sabres at Senators

OTTAWA -Michael Houser will make his season debut in goal for the Sabres against the Ottawa Senators tonight at Canadian Tire Centre, coach Don Granato announced.
Houser will become the sixth goaltender to start a game for the Sabres this season. He was also the sixth goaltender to appear for the team last season, when he made his NHL debut at age 28 and won a pair of starts on back-to-back nights.
Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7.
Here are five things to know going into the game.

1. The lineup

Forwards Vinnie Hinostroza and Tage Thompson did not make the trip, Granato announced. Hinostroza sustained an injury during Buffalo's overtime loss to Detroit on Monday. Thompson was not cleared to enter Ontario because he is less than 10 days removed from entering COVID protocol. (The NHL changed its isolation requirements to five days last month in according with the CDC.)
Brett Murray will be recalled from the taxi squad and will enter the lineup at forward along with Mark Jankowski, who was a healthy scratch on Monday.

2. Houser's return

Let's start with a refresher on Houser's memorable debut last May. He was 28 and in his ninth professional season when he got the call to join the Sabres, who were down five goaltenders. He had spent the year backing up in Rochester and had not played a professional game in nearly 14 months.
Houser made 34 saves to win his NHL debut over the New York Islanders. He made 45 saves and turned away all three attempts in a shootout to beat the Islanders again the following night. He then started Buffalo's final two games of the season in his hometown Pittsburgh.
Houser sought an NHL contract during the summer but ended up returning to the organization on an AHL deal with Rochester in September. With Craig Anderson, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and Malcolm Subban out with injuries and Dustin Tokarski dealing with lingering symptoms of COVID-19, the Sabres signed Houser for the remainder of the season on Jan. 12.
Granato referred to the goaltender's presence last season as "an inspiration."
"You've seen him last year so you know how well he prepares for his opportunity," Granato said. "You put him in a game tonight, obviously you want to support him as best you can as a team … but you know he has been internalizing and visualizing and planning and getting ready for a start."
Houser is 5-4-0 with a .900 save percentage with Rochester. His four starts in eight days prior to his recall marked his most consistent playing time of the season.
"That helps a ton, getting your feet under you and just getting back into that game rhythm to even play a few games in a row and really kind of taking a run with it," he said.

3. Who's hot?

Jeff Skinner has five goals and an assist in his past six games after scoring during Monday's overtime loss to the Red Wings.
Senators forward Alex Formenton has four points (1+3) in the team's last two contests.

4. No fans in attendance

The game will be played without spectators due to COVID-19 attendance restrictions in Ontario. It will be the Sabres' first game without fans since last season.
"It's something we haven't experienced for quite a while," Granato said. We talk about it as coaches, even last night I mentioned it, even though there was only a small crowd, it seems the smaller crowds you really feel the passion of people that get to the rink. They want to be there, they're determined to get to those games, and you feel that energy.
"With nobody in the building, you just here the music echoing. It is a different feel, it's a totally different. It's a big adjustment, I think, for all teams. I know for us, when we got back to the buildings that had that vibrance of fans and crowd noise, it was something we had to get reacclimated to and control momentum and deal with that crowd noise. So it'll be odd, probably a little bit surreal."

5. Scouting the Senators

The NHL postponed games involving Canadian teams in early January in an effort to play as few contests without fans as possible. As a result, the Senators went nearly two weeks without a game after losing to Toronto on New Year's Day.
Ottawa returned with a 4-1 victory in Calgary last Thursday, then followed it with a 6-4 win in Edmonton. Josh Norris scored a pair of power-play goals in the latter contest to up his team-leading total to 16. Drake Batherson leads the team with 30 points.
"They can spread the ice out quick," Granato said. "They have a style that'll stretch you out like Pittsburgh does. New Jersey stretches out. They're a fast, counter-attack team and it's usually a fun and entertaining game to watch and play."
Senators coach D.J. Smith did not announce his starting goaltender. Matt Murray has started the team's last two games.