Sabres at Kings preview

SABRES (5-1-1) at KINGS (2-4-0)
10:30 p.m. ET; FS-W, MSG-B, NHL.TV

Olofsson scored his eighth NHL goal on the power play in a 5-2 loss at the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday. He is the first player to score his first eight goals on the power play since goals by type became an official NHL statistic in the 1933-34 season.
The Kings continue a five-game homestand. They have lost their past two games, having been outscored 7-2.

Players to watch

Sabres forward Victor Olofsson has six power-play goals this season, which is tied with James Neal of the Edmonton Oilers for the League lead. Olofsson has at least one point in nine of his 13 NHL games.
Kings forward Dustin Brown is tied for the team lead with three goals. Brown has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 18 games against the Sabres.

They said it

"We're not worried about playing physical. We can look teams in the eyes. I feel there's a lot of courage on the bench." -- Sabres coach Ralph Krueger
"He has a sense of space, and he has an idea of where he wants to put the puck it looks like before it even arrives. It's refreshing for them I'm sure, and good for the League to see a young player like that score. We just hope he doesn't do it tonight." -- Kings coach Todd McLellan on Sabres forward Victor Olofsson

Sabres projected lineup

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

Kings projected lineup

Alex Iafallo -- Anze Kopitar -- Dustin Brown
Jeff Carter -- Blake Lizotte -- Tyler Toffoli
Ilya Kovalchuk -- Michael Amadio -- Austin Wagner
Kyle Clifford -- Adrian Kempe -- Trevor Lewis
Ben Hutton -- Drew Doughty
Alec Martinez -- Sean Walker
Joakim Ryan -- Matt Roy
Jack Campbell
Jonathan Quick
Scratched:Tobias Bjornfot, Carl Grundstrom, Kurtis MacDermid
Injured:Derek Forbort (back)

Status report

Doughty, who was helped to the locker room following a check into the boards by Hurricanes center Jordan Staal with 1:14 remaining in the third period of a 2-0 loss on Tuesday, practiced the past two days and is expected to play in his 417th consecutive game. … Hutton, who is 4-0-0 with a 1.74 goals-against average and .931 save percentage, is expected to start. … The Sabres did not hold a morning skate.

Stat pack

Olofsson has three points (two goals, one assist) in his past two games. … Eichel has three points (one goal, two assists) in his past two games. … Kopitar, who is four points from 900 in his NHL career, has 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in 17 games against the Sabres.