Kings at Sabres preview

KINGS (11-19-1) at SABRES (17-9-4)
7 p.m. ET; SN1, SNE, SNO, MSG-B, FS-W, NHL.TV

The Sabres selected Petersen in the fifth round (No. 129) of the 2013 NHL Draft. He agreed to terms with the Kings as an unrestricted free agent July 1, 2017.
The Kings are 2-5-2 in their past seven games, including a 3-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Monday.
Buffalo has lost five in a row (0-3-2) after its 10-game winning streak and has scored two goals or fewer in three of its past four games.

Players to watch

Kings defenseman Drew Doughty has two assists in his past three games.
Sabres forward Jack Eichel has four goals in his past two games and 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in his past 12 games.

They said it

"We got 43 shots and we had a lot of 2-on-1 and 3-on-2 rushes, but we only scored one goal. We can't be satisfied by just creating chances; we need to start scoring." -- Kings captain Anze Kopitar after the loss to the Red Wings
"Obviously these guys want to contribute and be a bigger part and sometimes it doesn't happen. If we can continue to check and play away from the puck better, I think they'll have opportunities with it. We got away from that last game." -- Sabres coach Phil Housley on the drop-off in secondary scoring

Kings projected lineup

Alex Iafallo -- Anze Kopitar -- Dustin Brown
Brendan Leipsic -- Jeff Carter -- Matt Luff
Nikita Scherbak -- Adrian Kempe -- Tyler Toffoli
Austin Wagner -- Michael Amadio -- Nate Thompson
Derek Forbort -- Drew Doughty
Jake Muzzin -- Oscar Fantenberg
Dion Phaneuf -- Paul LaDue
Cal Petersen
Jonathan Quick
Scratched: Sean Walker
Injured:Ilya Kovalchuk (ankle), Carl Hagelin (knee), Trevor Lewis (foot), Jack Campbell (knee), Jonny Brodzinski (shoulder), Kyle Clifford (head), Alec Martinez (upper body)

Sabres projected lineup

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

Status report

Neither team held a morning skate. … Hutton will be the backup after missing the 6-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday because of an upper-body injury. … Sabres coach Phil Housley said Hunwick would be assigned to Rochester of the American Hockey League on Tuesday for a conditioning stint. … Scandella skated and is day to day.

Stat pack

Kopitar, who has two points (one goal, one assist) in his past six games, needs two goals to reach 300 in the NHL. … Buffalo is 1-for-14 on the power play in its past six games.