Buffalo Sabres (16-37-3) @ New Jersey Devils (21-26-9)
7:30 PM – NBCSN
Newark, New Jersey
What can you say about this one? The Devils enter this game on a 4 game losing streak and while they played ok for a majority of their games in Chicago and Nashville, they finished both those games with poor 3rd period showings. The Sabres on the other hand appear to have gone all in for the Connor McDavid pick. If you cant beat the worst team in the league in your own building, it might get REALLY ugly within your fan base. Sabres are terrible on offense (not the NJ is much better) so I would expect a very low scoring game and with the way Schneider has been playing, then he should be able to keep Buffalo from scoring a bunch.
Things I will be watching tonight
– Jagr’s ice time. He hasn’t been playing a lot and part of me wonders if that has something to do with the upcoming trade deadline.
– Gionta returns to the lineup tonight. Brian will be in the lineup for Buffalo and that’s always fun to watch brother vs brother.
– With Gionta back in, Ryder, Havlat get the healthy scratch but honestly, can someone make an argument that would have me believing Zubrus shouldn’t be switched out for one of those? Especially Ryder as he’s possible trade bait??
Projected lines for the Devils
Tuomo Ruutu – Scott Gomez – Jaromir Jagr
Adam Henrique – Patrik Elias – Steve Bernier
Mike Cammalleri – Travis Zajac – Jordin Tootoo
Dainius Zubrus – Jacob Josefson – Stephen Gionta
Andy Greene – Adam Larsson
Jon Merrill – Marek Zidlicky
Eric Gelinas – Pete Harrold
I’ll be at this game tonight as my oldest son is playing with his Mite team in between the 1st and 2nd period. If it weren’t for that, I’m afraid that this game could have the makings of a snoozer.
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