Sabres
Pluses: They're coming off a big 4-0 win against the Avalanche on Sunday, when they neutralized one of the best offenses in the League. It was good for Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to get the shutout since he could be playing in this one, too, if Devon Levi still isn't ready to return from a lower-body injury. I'm not worried about the offense; Buffalo has scored 14 goals in its past three games. Forwards Jeff Skinner and JJ Peterka and center Tage Thompson each has at least four goals already, and defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is tied with Skinner for the Sabres lead with nine points. And they also have center Dylan Cozens and forwards Alex Tuch and Victor Olofsson, who each scored at least 28 goals last season.
Minuses: Levi was expected to be the starter, and he was since missing the past five games; we'll see if he dresses for this one. Buffalo will also be without rookie forward Zach Benson, week to week with a lower-body injury. He had a great preseason and was getting solid playing time in the first handful of games this season. Lastly, I'm surprised with all the talent they have, they're only clicking at 10.7 percent on the power play (29th in the NHL). That could be the difference between winning and losing.