Sabres at Lightning preview

SABRES (19-33-11) at LIGHTNING (43-17-3)
7:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, SUN, MSG-B, NHL.TV

Kucherov leads the NHL in scoring with 82 points (33 goals, 49 assists) in 63 games. He was injured during the first period of Tampa Bay's 4-3 shootout win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday.
Miller and defenseman Ryan McDonagh were acquired in a trade with the New York Rangers for forwards Vladislav Namestnikov and Brett Howden, defenseman Libor Hajek, a first-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft and a conditional first-round pick in 2019 on Monday. McDonagh is sidelined with an upper-body injury.
The Lightning, 12-5-0 in their past 17 games, have scored four goals in each game during winning streak and lead the Atlantic Division, four points ahead of the Maple Leafs.
The Sabres, 2-1-0 in their past three games, are 20 points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

Players to watch

Sabres forward Sam Reinhart has 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in his past 11 games.
Lightning center Yanni Gourde has 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in his past 13 games.

They said it

"[The Lightning] are going to want to have a good start in their home building, they want to get some sustained pressure and get the fans into it." -- Sabres goaltender Robin Lehner
"I think it's important that you try to get [established] as early as possible. Try to get a few hits, a couple of touches of the puck. Don't try to make it too hard on yourself." -- Lightning forward J.T. Miller on making his Tampa Bay debut

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Sabres projected lineup

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

Lightning projected lineup

Alex Killorn -- Brayden Point -- Steven Stamkos
Cory Conacher -- Yanni Gourde -- Adam Erne
Chris Kunitz -- Tyler Johnson -- J.T. Miller
Michael Bournival
-- Cedric Paquette -- Ryan Callahan
Victor Hedman -- Anton Stralman
Mikhail Sergachev -- Dan Girardi
Braydon Coburn -- Andrej Sustr
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Louis Domingue
Scratched: Slater Koekkoek, Jake Dotchin
Injured:Nikita Kucherov (upper body), Ondrej Palat (lower body), Ryan McDonagh (upper body), Peter Budaj (lower body)

Status report

Kucherov came on the ice in the final minutes of the morning skate. … Okposo will not play following the birth of his daughter. ... Johnson (ankle) was a full participant in morning skate and is expected to play.

Stat pack

O'Reilly has eight points (two goals, six assists) in his past eight games. … Stamkos has 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in his past 16 games.