Sabres at Senators preview

SABRES (27-24-8) at SENATORS (20-28-11)
7:30 p.m. ET; TSN5, RDS2, MSG-B, NHL.TV

The Sabres, 5-2-1 in their past eight games after going 3-5-0 in their previous eight, are nine points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
Goalie Carter Hutton will start for Buffalo; he has won his past four starts with a 2.22 goals-against average and .926 save percentage.
The Senators will try for their third win in their past 10 games (2-5-2).
Goalie Craig Anderson will start for Ottawa; he made 36 saves in a 4-3 overtime victory against the Dallas Stars on Sunday.

Players to watch

Sabres center Jack Eichel has eight points (two goals, six assists) in a five-game point streak and 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists) in 16 games against Ottawa.
Senators forward Brady Tkachuk has five points (two goals, three assists) in a three-game point streak.

They said it

"I really like the way that we're playing a full 60 [minutes] right now. It's going to be a huge test. Those guys are playing well. They beat us bad in our building coming out of the [All-Star] break (a 5-2 loss on Jan. 28), so we know that we're going to have to match their work ethic if we're going to be in this game." -- Sabres forward Kyle Okposo
"I thought we've played really solid, especially last game (against the Stars). For 65 minutes, we played a solid game, played hard, broke out the puck really well, and we want to build on those things. It's good for our confidence and we just want to keep pushing right now." -- Senators center Jean-Gabriel Pageau

Sabres projected lineup

Victor Olofsson -- Jack Eichel -- Sam Reinhart
Jeff Skinner -- Evan Rodrigues -- Conor Sheary
Marcus Johansson -- Curtis Lazar -- Jimmy Vesey
Zemgus Girgensons -- Johan Larsson -- Kyle Okposo
Brandon Montour -- Rasmus Ristolainen
Rasmus Dahlin -- Colin Miller
Jake McCabe -- Henri Jokiharju
Carter Hutton
Jonas Johansson
Scratched: John Gilmour, Scott Wilson
Injured: Michael Frolik (illness), Linus Ullmark (lower body), Tage Thompson (upper body), Vladimir Sobotka (lower body)

Senators projected lineup

Brady Tkachuk -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Connor Brown
Vladislav Namestnikov -- Chris Tierney -- Drake Batherson
Nicholas Paul -- Artem Anisimov -- Anthony Duclair
Scott Sabourin -- Colin White -- Tyler Ennis
Thomas Chabot -- Ron Hainsey
Cody Goloubef -- Andreas Englund
Mike Reilly -- Nikita Zaitsev
Craig Anderson
Marcus Hogberg
Scratched: Mikkel Boedker
Injured: Anders Nilsson (concussion), Mark Borowiecki (high ankle sprain)

Status report

Englund was recalled from Belleville of the American Hockey League after the Senators traded defenseman Dylan DeMelo to the Winnipeg Jets for two draft picks .... Larsson, who took maintenance days Monday and Tuesday, will be a game-time decision. … The Sabres recalled Wilson, a forward, from Rochester of the AHL on Monday. … Borowiecki, a defenseman, is week to week.

Stat pack

The Sabres have scored 12 goals in their past three games. … Buffalo is 11-5-3 in its past 19 games against Ottawa. … Duclair has gone 21 games without a goal.