Sabres at Penguins preview

SABRES (12-6-2) at PENGUINS (7-8-3)
7 p.m. ET; SN1, SNE, SNP, ATTSN-PT, MSG-B, NHL.TV

Each of Buffalo's five straight wins has been decided by one goal and three of the five came in overtime or a shootout. It has allowed two goals or fewer in three consecutive games.
The Sabres last won six in a row from Dec. 27, 2009-Jan. 8, 2010.
The Penguins will try to end their three-game losing streak. They are 1-7-1 in their past nine games and have allowed at least four goals in five of their past seven.
Goalie Casey DeSmith will start for Pittsburgh after Matt Murray allowed three goals on 10 shots in the first period of a 6-4 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. DeSmith made 12 saves on 15 shots after replacing Murray, who has a 4.08 goals-against average and .877 save percentage in 11 starts this season, to start the second period.

Players to watch

Sabres forward Conor Sheary will return to Pittsburgh for the first time since being traded from the Penguins on June 27. Sheary, who won the Stanley Cup in 2016 and 2017, has 10 points (six goals, four assists) in 20 games.
Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist has five points (four goals, one assist) in his past four games.

They said it

"I have a lot of good memories here, but I kind of want to put that behind me and move forward." -- Sabres forward Conor Sheary
"We're not playing bad, but there's a lot of things we can do better on the ice. It's not going to be one guy that's going to do it. It's everyone, as a team." -- Penguins forward Derick Brassard

Sabres projected lineup

Jeff Skinner -- Jack Eichel -- Jason Pominville
Tage Thompson -- Vladimir Sobotka -- Sam Reinhart
Conor Sheary -- Casey Mittelstadt -- Kyle Okposo
Patrik Berglund -- Johan Larsson -- Zemgus Girgensons
Jake McCabe -- Rasmus Ristolainen
Marco Scandella -- Casey Nelson
Rasmus Dahlin -- Zach Bogosian
Carter Hutton
Linus Ullmark
Scratched: Remi Elie, Evan Rodrigues, Nathan Beaulieu
Injured:Matt Hunwick (neck), Scott Wilson (ankle)

Penguins projected lineup

Tanner Pearson -- Evgeni Malkin -- Phil Kessel
Jake Guentzel -- Derick Brassard -- Patric Hornqvist
Zach Aston-Reese -- Riley Sheahan -- Bryan Rust
Dominik Simon -- Derek Grant -- Daniel Sprong
Jack Johnson -- Kris Letang
Brian Dumoulin -- Chad Ruhwedel
Olli Maatta -- Jamie Oleksiak
Casey DeSmith
Matt Murray
Scratched:Juuso Riikola
Injured:Sidney Crosby (upper body), Justin Schultz (left leg fracture), Matt Cullen (lower body)

Status report

Crosby participated in Pittsburgh's morning skate but will not play. ... Cullen will be out longer-term, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said.

Stat pack

Skinner will play his 600th NHL game. ... Letang will play his 700th game in the NHL. ... Rust will play his 200th NHL game.