Morning Skate | Staal a game-time decision vs. Capitals

Eric Staal will be a game-time decision for the Buffalo Sabres against the Washington Capitals on Friday night, coach Ralph Krueger announced.
Krueger said a decision on Staal will likely be made before 5 p.m., which is the deadline to activate a player from the taxi squad. The available forwards on Buffalo's taxi squad are Casey Mittelstadt, Rasmus Asplund, and rookie first-round pick Jack Quinn.
In the event Staal does not play, Krueger said that Riley Sheahan will slide from the wing to center. Dylan Cozens saw some shifts at center Thursday as the Sabres looked to climb back from a two-goal deficit during the third period.

"Depending on what happens here, that could even be in-game again a situation where you might want to push for a little more offense and [Cozens] does give us that option," Krueger said. "But initially, we would want to be more stable defensively down the middle so Sheahan would slide in."
Staal sustained his injury during the third period of Buffalo's loss to Washington on Thursday after taking an elbow to the jaw from Capitals forward Nic Dowd. Dowd was assessed a two-minute minor for the play, which occurred in the neutral zone. Staal did not return.
"Quite surprised that a hit to the head gets two minutes but it is what it is and we're disappointed with that finish stretch there for sure," Krueger said afterward.

The lineup

The Sabres did not hold a morning skate Friday, meaning lines will be revealed during pregame warmups. Kyle Okposo will remain absent but is still considered day-to-day, with a decision on his availability for the team's next series in Philadelphia expected this weekend.
"He's recovering," Krueger said. "It's been a positive couple of days, and we do expect him back soon, but like I said it's more one of those true day-to-day kinds of injuries where we're definitely holding him out today."
Krueger did not confirm his starting goaltender but hinted that the nod would go to Linus Ullmark after Carter Hutton started the first game of the back-to-back set on Thursday.
Ullmark missed the first four days of training camp after an immigration issue delayed his quarantine but joined the team in time for their second intrasquad scrimmage last Saturday. He was optimistic about his readiness to step back into game action.
"It's still the same game," he said. "It's like riding a bike, you know? You just got to go out there, play my heart out and just enjoy the moment."

Previewing the rematch

The old cliches held true on Thursday. The veteran Capitals moved the puck north-south with speed through the neutral zone and forechecked aggressively to sustain long offensive-zone shifts. The Sabres found their game late but felt they overcomplicated their play in transition early. Defensively, Krueger felt his team was tentative at times as opposed to playing the aggressive style he expects to establish as a hallmark of Sabres hockey.
It almost didn't matter. Buffalo's revamped offense nearly erased a 4-1 deficit, twice coming within a goal of the Capitals in what ended as a 6-4 loss.

"We're expecting a much better game tonight and one of the reasons is what happened in the second half of the game when we got our legs under us and we simplified things," Krueger said.
"… We really see a lot of skill in our lineup that is a threat to score at all times. What we need to have today is a much better defensive game. We need to be more aggressive defensively. We gave them too much space and too much room early, but I agree, your main question was about the offense and we are excited about the tools we have in that box this year."

Tune in

Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop set for 7. You can listen to the game live on WGR 550.