Ducks at Sabres preview

DUCKS (25-19-10) at SABRES (14-29-9)
7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, PRIME, NHL.TV

The Sabres have lost three straight on home ice (0-3-0) after sweeping a three-game road trip through Western Canada. Goalie Robin Lehner will make his fifth start in six games. Lehner is 2-2-0 with an 0.76 goals-against average, .976 save percentage and two shutouts in his past four.
The Ducks are 0-2-1 in their past three after a 7-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday. Ryan Miller made 33 saves and may start against the Sabres. He's 2-1-0 with a 2.34 GAA and .910 save percentage against Buffalo, where he played his first 11 NHL seasons.

Players to watch

Ducks forward Rickard Rakell has eight points (three goals, five assists) during a four-game point streak.
Sabres center Ryan O'Reilly has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in his past 11 games.

They said it

"We have a chance if we have success here tonight to be .500 on the road. There's always a silver lining when you're on the road and there's always a silver lining that your hockey club has played well in some of the games… But we have to look in the mirror and self-improvement is the biggest area in which we need to improve." -- Ducks coach Randy Carlyle
"It's our work away from the puck. We had it for three games and it kind of looked like we turned a corner and we realized what we need to do to win and to win consistently, and then we take a couple steps back. We've got to put our heads down and work because if you don't work, you're going to get eaten up in this league." -- Sabres right wing Kyle Okposo

Ducks projected lineup

Rickard Rakell -- Ryan Getzlaf -- Corey Perry
Andrew Cogliano -- Ryan Kesler -- Jakob Silfverberg
Nick Ritchie -- Adam Henrique -- Ondrej Kase
Chris Wagner -- Antoine Vermette -- JT Brown
Hampus Lindholm -- Josh Manson
Cam Fowler -- Kevin Bieksa
Francois Beauchemin -- Brandon Montour
Ryan Miller
Reto Berra
Scratched:Derek Grant, Korbinian Holzer
Injured:John Gibson (lower body), Patrick Eaves (Guillain-Barre Syndrome)

Sabres projected lineup

Zemgus Girgensons -- Jack Eichel -- Sam Reinhart
Evander Kane -- Ryan O'Reilly -- Kyle Okposo
Scott Wilson -- Evan Rodrigues -- Jason Pominville
Benoit Pouliot -- Jacob Josefson -- Jordan Nolan
Marco Scandella -- Rasmus Ristolainen
Nathan Beaulieu -- Casey Nelson
Justin Falk -- Jake McCabe
Robin Lehner
Chad Johnson
Scratched:Josh Gorges, Victor Antipin
Injured:Zach Bogosian (hip)
Suspended:Johan Larsson

Status report

Gibson took part in an optional skate Tuesday. … Falk returns after he was a healthy scratch the past two games.

Stat pack

Henrique has seven points (five goals, two assists) in his past seven games. … Eichel does not have a point in four straight games but has 25 (12 goals, 13 assists) in his past 20.