Panthers at Sabres preview

PANTHERS (12-13-6) at SABRES (20-9-5)
7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, FS-F, NHL.TV

Reinhart is on an NHL career-high 10-game streak (16 points; five goals, 11 assists). It's the second-longest active streak in the NHL behind Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin (14).
Eichel has 13 points (nine goals, four assists) during his six-game run and was named the NHL's Third Star for the week ending Dec. 16.
Buffalo is 3-0-1 after a five-game losing streak (0-3-2).
The Panthers ended a four-game losing streak (0-3-1) with a 4-3 overtime victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. Florida has won six straight against Buffalo.

Players to watch

Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau has 21 points (five goals, 16 assists) in his past 11 games with multiple points in nine of them.
Sabres forward Jeff Skinner has seven points (four goals, three assists) in a six-game point streak. Three goals have been game-winners.

They said it

"It's definitely important, especially as the road team, to create your own storm that they have to weather at the beginning of the game and put them back on their heels." -- Panthers defenseman Mike Matheson
"The timing through training camp and all of a sudden getting thrown in, he's well-prepared, he's ready. But I thought he played some really solid minutes for us against Boston. It was a good start for him." -- Sabres coach Phil Housley on defenseman Matt Hunwick, who made his season debut against the Boston Bruins on Sunday

Panthers projected lineup

Jonathan Huberdeau -- Aleksander Barkov -- Mike Hoffman
Frank Vatrano -- Henrik Borgstrom -- Evgenii Dadonov
Denis Malgin -- Jared McCann -- Troy Brouwer
Micheal Haley -- Juho Lammikko - Jayce Hawryluk
Keith Yandle -- Aaron Ekblad
Mike Matheson -- Mark Pysyk
MacKenzie Weegar -- Alexander Petrovic
Roberto Luongo
James Reimer
Scratched:Colton Sceviour, Bogdan Kiselevich
Injured:Nick Bjugstad (upper body), Vincent Trocheck (ankle), Derek MacKenzie (shoulder), Jamie McGinn (back)

Sabres projected lineup

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

Status report

McCabe joined the Sabres for the morning skate and said he's hopeful he'll be ready to return before the holiday break. … Beaulieu and Pilut were on the ice before the skate. … Bjugstad skated but will not play. Coach Bob Boughner said he probably won't play against Toronto on Thursday but could be an option for a back-to-back set this weekend.

Stat pack

Barkov had his first NHL hat trick Saturday, giving him 13 points (seven goals, six assists) in his past 10 games. … Reinhart needs one assist for 100 in the NHL. Buffalo is 15-3-3 this season when he gets at least one point.