Game #74 Preview & Open Thread: Sabres vs. Devils

Game #74

Buffalo Sabres (34-34-5) vs. New Jersey Devils (36-33-4)

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

TV: MSG

Radio: WGR-550

Know Your Opponent 

New Jersey Devils

Record: 36-33-4

Last Game: 6-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs

Division Ranking: 6th, Metropolitan

PP: 22.6% (11th)

PK: 81.4% (11th)

What To Watch For

1. No Scoreboard Watching

There is only one game on the NHL schedule tonight, and it’s this one. If you’re one of the Sabres fans who is still hanging onto a thread of playoff hope, well, there are no other games to keep an eye on this evening. The Sabres are 7th in the wild card with 73 points, so a win tonight would jump them ahead of 6th-place Pittsburgh (74 points) and leave them one point back of the Devils.

Tampa Bay is in the first wildcard spot with 87 points, while Washington holds the second spot with 81 points. Following tonight’s game, both of those teams will have two games in hand on the Sabres.

2. (Sort of) Red-Hot Devils

The Devils come into Buffalo on a two-game winning streak, having beat the Islanders 4-0 and Leafs 6-3. Overall, they’ve won four of their last five games but are 5-5 in their last 10. Regardless: the two-game streak is what brings them into Buffalo, which is the final of a three-game road trip for them. The Devils are also battling for a playoff spot and enter tonight’s game with a 17.4 percent chance of making it, according to MoneyPuck.

They’ll need some big performances from players like Jesper Bratt, Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier. Bratt leads the team with 49 assists and 72 points, while Hughes and Tyler Toffoli each have 26 goals. Hischier is two points shy of 60 on the season.

Buffalo Sabres

Forwards 

JJ Peterka – Tage Thompson – Alex TuchZach Benson – Dylan Cozens – Jack QuinnJeff Skinner – Peyton Krebs – Jordan GreenwayEric Robinson – Zemgus Girgensons – Victor Olofsson

Defense

Owen Power – Rasmus DahlinBowen Byram – Henri JokiharjuJacob Bryson – Connor Clifton

Goaltenders: Devon Levi (projected starter), Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

New Jersey Devils

Forwards

Timo Meier – Nico Hischier – Jesper BrattJack Hughes – Erik Haula – Alexander HoltzOndrej Palat – Tomas Nosek – Dawson MercerMaxwell Willman – Chris Tierney – Curtis Lazar

Defense

Kevin Bahl – John MarinoLuke Hughes – Nick DeSimoneBrendan Smith – Simon Nemec

Goaltenders: Jake Allen (projected starter), Kaapo Kahkonen