Lightning at Sabres preview

LIGHTNING (16-5-2) at SABRES (6-14-4)
7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, SUN, NHL.TV

Brown, who missed the past two games with an undisclosed injury, skated in practice Monday and said he's ready to go. Coach Jon Cooper said he'll be a game-time decision. Andrei Vasilevskiy is expected to start.
The Sabres, losers of eight of their past nine games, will have dress forward Matt Moulson, who was a healthy scratch for the past six games. He replaces Jacob Josefson, who injured his ankle on Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens and will miss 4-6 weeks.
Robin Lehner will make his third straight start and fourth in five games.

Players to watch

Vasilevskiy is 5-1-0 in his career against the Sabres with a .949 save percentage. He leads the NHL in wins (15) and is tied for fourth in save percentage (.930).
Sabres left wing Evander Kane has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in 12 games in November, including four points (one goal, three assists) in the past four games.

They said it

"We have lost three of four now and it's kind of a strange road trip; we've been out for quite a while, but all we're playing is back-to-backs but it's imperative we probably need a little bit of rest. We got some, had a pretty spirited practice yesterday; I liked our energy, I liked what was going on. I have no idea how the game will go tonight, but I expect a good effort from our guys." -- Lightning coach Jon Cooper
"You take a look at their team; they have a mobile defense that jumps in the rush, they have a terrific rush game so our puck management is going to be critical tonight, and we're going to have to play terrific defense. … I just look at it as a great challenge for our group." -- Sabres coach Phil Housley on facing the Lightning

Lightning projected lineup

Vladislav Namestnikov -- Steven Stamkos -- Nikita Kucherov
Ondrej Palat -- Brayden Point -- Yanni Gourde
Alex Killorn -- Tyler Johnson -- JT Brown
Chris Kunitz -- Cedric Paquette -- Ryan Callahan
Victor Hedman -- Slater Koekkoek
Mikhail Sergachev -- Anton Stralman
Dan Girardi -- Braydon Coburn
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Peter Budaj
Scratched:Andrej Sustr
Injured:Jake Dotchin (undisclosed)

Sabres projected lineup

Evander Kane -- Jack Eichel -- Sam Reinhart
Benoit Pouliot -- Ryan O'Reilly -- Kyle Okposo
Jordan Nolan -- Johan Larsson -- Jason Pominville
Matt Moulson -- Kyle Criscuolo -- Zemgus Girgensons
Marco Scandella -- Rasmus Ristolainen
Jake McCabe -- Victor Antipin
Nathan Beaulieu -- Justin Falk
Robin Lehner
Chad Johnson
Scratched:Josh Gorges
Injured:Jacob Josefson (ankle), Taylor Fedun (lower body), Matt Tennyson (foot), Zach Bogosian (lower body)

Status update

Tampa Bay held an optional skate; Sergachev, Brown, and Budaj were the only participants. … Bogosian and Tennyson skated again but neither will play.

Stat pack

The Lightning have scored a power-play goal in eight of the past nine games. … Eichel has five points (two goals, three assists) in his past five games against the Lightning.