Sabres at Panthers preview

SABRES (20-33-11) at PANTHERS (30-25-6)
7:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, FS-F, MSG-B, NHL.TV

The Panthers, 7-2-0 in their past nine games and 11-3-0 in their past 14, are three points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, with three games in hand.
Goaltender James Reimer is expected to start; he allowed seven goals on 34 shots in his last start, a 7-2 loss at the Winnipeg Jets on Feb. 18.
Forward Kyle Okposo, who missed a 2-1 overtime win at the Tampa Bay Lightning attending the birth of his third child on Wednesday, will return to the Sabres lineup. Buffalo, 3-1-0 in its past four games after going 1-3-1 in its previous five games, is in last place in the Eastern Conference, 18 points out of the second wild card.

Players to watch

Sabres center Ryan O'Reilly has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in his past nine games.
Panthers center Aleksander Barkov has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in his past nine games.

They said it

"I think we're really ready to go at the start of the game, and I think we're playing as a team. Everybody is playing for each other in there, and when you play as a team in this league, you get things accomplished." -- Sabres coach Phil Housley
"We don't want to be a team that trades chances. We're a good team when we control the puck in the offensive zone and we use our speed to our advantage and we don't turn the puck over. It's beneficial for what we want to do." -- Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo

Sabres projected lineup

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

Panthers projected lineup

Evgenii Dadonov -- Aleksander Barkov -- Nick Bjugstad
Jonathan Huberdeau -- Vincent Trocheck -- Radim Vrbata
Jamie McGinn -- Jared McCann -- Maxim Mamin
Micheal Haley -- Derek MacKenzie -- Colton Sceviour
Keith Yandle -- Aaron Ekblad
Mike Matheson -- Mark Pysyk
MacKenzie Weegar -- Alexander Petrovic
James Reimer
Roberto Luongo
Scratched:Connor Brickley, Ian McCoshen
Injured:Denis Malgin (lower body), Frank Vatrano (lower body)

Status report

Rodrigues is day to day. … The Panthers did not skate on Friday.

Stat pack

Ristolainen has four points (one goal, three assists) in his past four games. … Trocheck has nine points (six goals, three assists) in his past nine games and 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in his past 20. … Dadonov has 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in his past nine games.