Game Preview | 5 things to know ahead of Sabres vs. Islanders

Mark Pysyk remembers little about his first NHL game, a mid-March loss in Washington in 2013. Pysyk, less than three years removed from being drafted during the first round by the Sabres, tallied one shot and skated just short of 15 minutes.
"It was all a blur, lot of nerves," he said. "Nine years. Time goes really fast."
The defenseman, now 30 years old and back in the uniform he wore to start his career, will play his 500th NHL game when the Sabres host the New York Islanders tonight at KeyBank Center.
Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. The puck drops at 7.
Here are five things to know.

Pysyk will return to the lineup in place of Robert Hagg, who will be a healthy scratch. Sabres coach Don Granato said he does not expect Hagg's absence to stretch beyond one game. Pysyk was a healthy scratch for Buffalo's win in Montreal on Sunday.
Dustin Tokarski will start in goal. Here's the projected lineup based on the morning skate:
| February 15 vs. New York | | --- | | LW | C | RW | | 53 Jeff Skinner | 72 Tage Thompson | 89 Alex Tuch | | 19 Peyton Krebs | 24 Dylan Cozens | 71 Victor Olofsson | | 74 Rasmus Asplund | 20 Cody Eakin | 21 Kyle Okposo | | 96 Anders Bjork | 17 Mark Jankowski | 15 John Hayden | | LD | RD | G | | 26 Rasmus Dahlin | 10 Henri Jokiharju | 31 Dustin Tokarski | | 78 Jacob Bryson | 13 Mark Pysyk | 41 Craig Anderson | | 23 Mattias Samuelsson | 45 Casey Fitzgerald | |
Pysyk had appeared in every game this season prior to being scratched in Montreal. The Sabres have begun employing a rotation within their seven-man defense corps to ensure the youngest players - Rasmus Dahlin, Henri Jokiharju, Mattias Samuelsson, and Casey Fitzgerald - see consistent ice time.
Granato lauded Pysyk for his handling of the news.
"You look at what we've got on defense right now, we've got a lot of great young players and they've got to be playing," Pysyk said. "I definitely understand what's going on."
Video: PREGAME: Pysyk
Pysyk has had a positive season in his own right. His average ice time of 18:47 is his highest since his second year in the league. He has resumed a full-time role on defense after seeing time at forward in recent seasons with Florida and Dallas.
"He's] older guy by virtue of experience," Granato said. "I don't think he's an older guy as far as an athlete. He's a good athlete. He still has, I think, a lot of good years ahead of him, athletically and within our game. He has a younger mindset in the sense of he's still trying to get better, he's still investing.
"… He's a happy guy, he's a competitive guy but he's not satisfied by any means, and that's indicative of what I said, but he's happy. By virtue of that, he's a real good influence around our players and our team."
The Sabres released a video Wednesday in which players were asked to name a teammate who is the "life of the party." Pysyk was a nearly unanimous response.
"He's one of a kind," Kyle Okposo said. "I don't like talking him up. But he's somebody that - he could probably be on SNL if he really wanted to. Like, he's just that witty, that funny. Everything's just, everything's on his toes and it's off the tip of his tongue. It's hilarious.
"He adds a huge dimension to our room of just keeping things light, keeping everybody engaged. He's been awesome to get to know and I can't say enough good things about him as a teammate. Really happy he's gonna hit the half-century."
[Tweet from @BuffaloSabres: Of all your buds, who's the biggest life of the party?Bring them to Bring Your Buds Night tomorrow! 🎟: https://t.co/H1r7hvdNPA#LetsGoBuffalo | @budlight pic.twitter.com/DTpN5jkcxL
Okposo and Zemgus Girgensons are the Sabres' alternate captains. When one of them misses a game, Pysyk is next in line to don an 'A.' Okposo described the defenseman's leadership style as invaluable within a predominantly young group.
"I guess I'd probably put me in the more serious category, especially when it comes to game time and my preparation," Okposo said. "He's somebody that keeps things light and different guys respond to different things.
"… Mark's a leader on this team and his niche is making people laugh. If some guys get a little nervous before a game, he keeps things light, so it makes guys feel comfortable. I think that's a strength of our team is the way that our personalities are meshing and allowing everybody to feel comfortable."
Casey Mittelstadt skated with the team again this morning but will not play against the Islanders. It was his third full-contact skate with the team since Jan. 30, when he left Buffalo's game in Colorado to evaluate his surgically repaired upper-body injury.
"We're going to try to push him hard and try to push him maybe even above game demand to see how he responds," Granato said.
"… The injury doesn't seem to be any issue, so we're past that hindrance, which is a real good thing. The last complications he has were the muscles around the injury overcompensating and tightening up, and we're not seeing that now, we haven't to this point. So, that's really encouraging."
The Islanders, coming off a 5-2 loss in Calgary on Saturday, have dropped three of their last four contests. While their average goals against (2.69) ranks fifth in the NHL - not far off from marks that propelled them to back-to-back semifinal berths - their 101 goals scored rank last.
Still, Okposo said he expects a demanding physical game from his former team.
"It's still going to be a hard, heavy game," he said. "Extremely well-coached obviously and they're very structured. They play hard and they're a desperate team. They've got to put points in the bank, so we know we're going to have to be ready to go and we're looking forward to the challenge."
Mathew Barzal leads the Islanders in assists (19) and points (30). He had a goal and two assists when these teams last met, a 4-1 victory for New York on Long Island on Dec. 30.
Ilya Sorokin is expected to start in goal. He's 14-10-5 with a .920 save percentage.