Game Preview: Islanders vs Sabres

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (45-26-7) VS BUFFALO SABRES (31-36-10)
7 PM | NYCB LIVE | BUY TICKETS
WATCH: MSG+2 | MSG GO | NHL.TV
LISTEN: 88.7FM WRHU | 103.9FM LI NEWS | RADIO.COM/ISLANDERS
MORNING SKATE UPDATES | GAME NOTES

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• The Islanders (97 points) have a chance to clinch a playoff berth on Saturday night with win over Buffalo, or a Montreal loss in Winnipeg. Per Eric Hornick, it has been 17 years since the Isles have clinched a playoff spot with a win on home ice (5-4 vs Washington on April 6, 2002) and 29 years since the Isles clinched a playoff spot in March (March 31, 1990).
  - The Islanders enter Saturday's game coming off of a pivotal and morale-boosting comeback 5-4 win over Winnipeg on Thursday. The Isles scored straight, third period goals, including two in the final two minutes to stun the Jets.
  - Jordan Eberle has four points (3G, 1A) in the past three games. Eberle previously went without a point in 11 of the previous 12 games.
  - Robin Lehner made 33 saves in Thursday's win in Winnipeg. In his last four games, Lehner has played 211 minutes and only allowed six goals, including a shutout against Arizona on March 24. Lehner has stopped 98 of 104 shots in that stretch and compiled a goals against average (GAA) of 1.71 and a save percentage of .942. Lehner is ranked third in the NHL with a 2.22 GAA this season.
  - Lehner was nominated on March 28 for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. The Masterton is given annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to ice hockey. All 31 teams receive a nomination, while the three finalists will be announced at a later tday.
  - Mathew Barzal was the first to get the Isles on the board and ended his 19-game goal drought on Thursday. Barzal is atop the Islanders leaderboard with 61 points (18G, 43A) through his 78 appearances in his sophomore season.
  - Anders Lee scored his 28th goal of the season on a five-on-three power play. It was the Isles first power-play goal since March 17 and only second goal on the man-up for the month of March.
  - The Islanders are (4-3-0) in their last seven games.
  - The Islanders (97 points) are two points ahead of Pittsburgh (95 points) and three points behind the first-place Washington Capitals (100 points).

SABRES NOTES:

• The Sabres begin the first leg of back-to-back road games at NYCB Live Nassau Coliseum. Buffalo is coming off of a 5-4 overtime loss to Detroit on Thursday, the team's fifth straight loss.
  - Victor Olofsson made his NHL debut against Detroit on Thursday. Olofsson, Buffalo's 2014 seventh-round pick, was recalled from the Sabres AHL affiliate the Rochester Americans on Wednesday. Olofsson skated on Buffalo's top line alongside Eichel and Sam Reinhart. The 23-year-old Swede recorded an assist on Jack Eichel's game-tying goal in the third period. Olofsson had five shots on goal, logged 16:25 of ice time, and saw 2:45 on the power play.
  - Eichel leads Buffalo's leaderboard with 76 points (27G, 49A) through 72 games played this season.
  - In his first season as a Sabres, Jeff Skinner leads the team with 37 goals (60 points) through 77 games. Skinner was traded to Buffalo on August 2, 2018 after playing eight seasons with Carolina.
  - Former Islander Kyle Okposo will return to the Coliseum for the first time since Game 6 of the 2015 playoffs.
  - The Sabres recalled defenseman Matt Tennyson from their AHL affiliate the Rochester Americans on Thursday. It's the fourth time this season that the Sabres have called up the 28-year-old Minnesota native. In his NHL career, Tennyson has totaled 20 points (3G, 17A) in 124 NHL games with Buffalo, the Carolina Hurricanes and the San Jose Sharks.
  - Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin has 41 points (8G, 33A) in his rookie season after Buffalo drafted the No. 1 overall pick of the 2018 Entry Draft.
  - Defenseman Will Borgen made his NHL debut with the Sabres at Ottawa on Tuesday as Rasmus Ristolainen woke up ill and Zach Bogosian is out with lower-body injury. The 22-year-old was in the lineup against Detroit.
  - Ristolainen will not travel with the team due to an illness, nor will Bogosian (lower body) and Matt Hunwick (upper body).
  - The Sabres currently sit in sixth place of the Atlantic Division with 72 points.
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