Landeskog will be out 4-6 weeks with an upper-body injury he sustained in a collision with Dallas Stars goalie Ben Bishop. He is Colorado's third leading scorer with 69 points behind Mikko Rantanen (85) and Nathan MacKinnon (84). The Avalanche are four points behind the Minnesota Wild for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. Colorado is 1-3-0 in its past four games after going 6-1-1 in its previous eight games. The Sabres trail the Montreal Canadiens by 10 points for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference and will try to end a three-game losing streak. They are 2-7-2 in their past 11 games and 5-10-3 in thei past 18 games.
Players to watch
Sabres forward Jack Eichel has 11 points (seven goals, four assists) in his past 10 games and 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) in his past 17 games. He needs two goals for 200 in the NHL. Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen has nine points (five goals, four assists) in his past nine games.
They said it
"This is where we're at right now. We're going to have to scrape and claw for every point we get." -- Sabres coach Phil Housley "We have to take care of our business. It's an uphill battle from here on out, no question, but I still think we're capable of winning our fair share of hockey games." -- Avalanche coach Jared Bednar
Brassard will replace Landeskog on the first line with MacKinnon and Compher. ... Zadorov will play after missing one game with an upper-body injury.
Stat pack
Sheary has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past five games. … Okposo need one assist for 300 in the NHL … MacKinnon has seven points (four goals, three assists) in his past seven games. ... The Sabres have allowed at least four goals in eight of their past 11 games.
