Stars at Sabres preview

STARS (35-28-5) at SABRES (30-29-9)
7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, FS-SW+, NHL.TV

Bishop is 7-2-0 with a 1.34 goals-against average and .958 shooting percentage in his past nine starts, including shutouts of the New York Rangers on March 5 and the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday. A third consecutive shutout would match Cesare Maniago, who accomplished the feat with the North Stars from Dec. 13-16, 1967.
The Stars, 6-3-0 in their past nine games, hold the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Minnesota Wild and four behind the St. Louis Blues for third place in the Central Division.
The Sabres, who have lost four straight (0-3-1) and are 2-8-2 in their past 12 games, will be without center Jack Eichel, who will serve the first of a two-game suspension for an illegal check to the head of Avalanche forward Carl Soderberg during a 3-0 loss Saturday.

Players to watch

Stars forward Alexander Radulov has nine points (six goals, three assists) in in his past seven games.
Sabres forward Conor Sheary has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past six games.
They said it
"This time of year, motivation isn't something we have to worry about. It's execution and commitment to our process." -- Stars coach Jim Montgomery
"I just want to show that I can be here. I know I'm ready for this. … I'm going to take this opportunity that I get and do the best I can." -- Sabres forward Alexander Nylander, who will make his season debut with Buffalo after being recalled from Rochester of the American Hockey League on Sunday

Stars projected lineup

Roope Hintz -- Tyler Seguin -- Alexander Radulov
Jamie Benn --
Joel L'Esperance
-- Jason Spezza
Mattias Janmark -- Radek Faksa -- Blake Comeau
Andrew Cogliano -- Jason Dickinson -- Valeri Nichushkin
Esa Lindell -- John Klingberg
Miro Heiskanen -- Roman Polak
Jamie Oleksiak -- Ben Lovejoy
Ben Bishop
Anton Khudobin
Scratched: Julius Honka, Taylor Fedun, Brett Ritchie
Injured: Stephen Johns (upper body), Marc Methot (lower body), Martin Hanzal (back), Tyler Pitlick (upper body), Mats Zuccarello (arm)

Sabres projected lineup

Jeff Skinner -- Casey Mittelstadt -- Jason Pominville
Conor Sheary -- Evan Rodrigues -- Alexander Nylander
Tage Thompson -- Vladimir Sobotka -- Sam Reinhart
Scott Wilson -- Johan Larsson -- Kyle Okposo
Rasmus Dahlin -- Zach Bogosian
Matt Hunwick -- Rasmus Ristolainen
Marco Scandella -- Brandon Montour
Linus Ullmark
Carter Hutton
Scratched: Casey Nelson, Zemgus Girgensons
Injured: Jake McCabe (upper body)
Suspended: Jack Eichel

Status report

The Sabres and Stars each held an optional morning skate. … Oleksiak will play after being scratched the past two games and in four of the past five.

Stat pack

Comeau needs one point to reach 300 in the NHL. … Klingberg needs two assists for 200 in the NHL. … Skinner, who has five assists in his past 11 games, is one goal from tying his NHL career high of 37 set with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2016-17.