Oilers at Sabres preview

OILERS (21-17-4) at SABRES (17-17-7)
7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, SNW, NHL.TV

The Sabres are 1-6-1 in their past eight games and have yet to lose five straight in regulation this season.
The Oilers begin a five-game road trip with each of the first four games against Atlantic Division opponents. Edmonton is 2-4-1 against the division and 3-7-1 in its past 11 games.
Edmonton defenseman Oscar Klefbom will play. He left in the third period of a 7-5 win against the New York Rangers on Tuesday with a lower-body injury sustained blocking a shot.

Players to watch

Oilers center Connor McDavid has five points (two goals, three assists) during a four-game point streak and eight points (three goals, five assists) in eight games against the Sabres.
Sabres center Jack Eichel has a goal and an assist in his past two games and 10 points (five goals, five assists) in eight games against the Oilers.

They said it

"We come into this road trip, we've got five games, it's going to be a real hard trip, a real test for our team. We've got to be a strong defending team, make sure we're taking care of our own end and just play real solid. The structure we want to play with and the work ethic have to be there, and hopefully we can grind out some results." -- Oilers coach Dave Tippett
"They are as strong up the middle maybe as any team we've seen here with McDavid, [Leon] Draisaitl, [Ryan Nugent-Hopkins] and Gaetan Haas. That's a really good group up the middle. We'll see them here and there together or on power play, McDavid and Draisaitl, but I think it's more important to concentrate on our team game." -- Sabres coach Ralph Krueger

Oilers projected lineup

James Neal -- Connor McDavid -- Zack Kassian
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Leon Draisaitl -- Kailer Yamamoto
Joakim Nygard -- Gaetan Haas - Alex Chiasson
Jujhar Khaira -- Riley Sheahan -- Josh Archibald
Oscar Klefbom -- Ethan Bear
Darnell Nurse -- Kris Russell
William Lagesson -- Adam Larsson
Mike Smith
Mikko Koskinen
Scratched:Caleb Jones, Patrick Russell, Alex Chiasson
Injured:Matt Benning (head)

Sabres projected lineup

Victor Olofsson -- Jack Eichel -- Sam Reinhart
Jimmy Vesey -- Marcus Johansson -- Conor Sheary
Zemgus Girgensons -- Johan Larsson -- Kyle Okposo
Curtis Lazar -- Rasmus Asplund
Jake McCabe -- Rasmus Ristolainen
Rasmus Dahlin -- Brandon Montour
Marco Scandella -- Henri Jokiharju
Colin Miller
Linus Ullmark
Carter Hutton
Scratched:Evan Rodrigues, Zach Bogosian
Injured:Jeff Skinner (upper body), Tage Thompson (upper body), Vladimir Sobotka (lower body)

Status report

Miller will play after being scratched against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.

Stat pack

Reinhart is one goal from 100 in the NHL. … The Sabres are 0-for-14 on the power play in their past five games. … Draisaitl has 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in his past 14 games. … Neal had a hat trick Tuesday after going four games without scoring a goal.