Need to Know: Bruins at Sabres 

BUFFALO –– The Boston Bruins open a five-game road trip on Saturday with a 7 p.m. matchup against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center.

The B’s are looking to get back in the win column after dropping the last four games. Saturday marks the third of four regular-season meetings between the teams. The Bruins have beaten Buffalo twice this year: 3-1 on Oct. 11, and 4-3 in overtime on Oct. 30.

“They’re very skilled. Lots of speed. Won seven in a row. I think that alone says it all. I think we always matched up pretty good. But again, they’ve been on a hot streak. Will be a big challenge tonight,” head coach Marco Sturm said of Buffalo.

“We have to come together again as a unit. On the ice, off the ice. I think that’s where we played our best hockey – when we were connected…Now we just have to make sure we’re going to do it again.”

Tanner Jeannot will not play on Saturday in Buffalo due to an injury, Sturm said; they are still deciding which forward will enter the lineup in his absence. Jonathan Aspirot and Henri Jokiharju – who have both been out with injury – are on the road trip with the team.

“[Aspirot] will be getting a little bit closer. [Jokiharju] is skating again. So slowly, guys are coming back,” Sturm said. “They are on the trip, so that’s a good sign. I don’t know if they’re going to make it to a game or two or three. I don’t know. It’s too early to say.”

Wait, There’s More

• Joonas Korpisalo will start in net for the Bruins. The goaltender last played on Sunday against the Ottawa Senators. Korpisalo made a season-high 37 saves in his last start against Buffalo on Oct. 30. He has a 3.63 goals against average and .880 save percentage through 14 games.
• Marat Khusnutdinov enters the contest in Buffalo on a three-game point streak. The 23-year-old forward scored in Tuesday’s loss against the Montreal Canadiens while skating on the fourth line with Alex Steeves and Sean Kuraly. Khusnutdinov has a total of 12 points (five goals, seven assists) through 33 games this year.
• Nikita Zadorov was a first-round pick of the Sabres in the 2013 NHL Draft. The defenseman spent two years with the organization before getting traded to the Colorado Avalanche in June 2015. Zadorov has been skating on the first pair with Charlie McAvoy, averaging 21:48 of ice time per night. He has 13 points (one goal, 12 assists) in 38 games.

Opposing View

• Buffalo enters Saturday’s matchup on a seven-game win streak, most recently beating the Ottawa Senators 3-2 in overtime on Tuesday. Bowen Byram scored twice – including the OT game-winner – and Noah Ostlund also had a goal. Netminder Alex Lyon made 24 saves on 26 shots. The Sabres sit seventh in the Atlantic Division, one point behind the Bruins.
• Tage Thompson leads Buffalo in both goals (18) and points (32). The 28-year-old forward has been centering the first line between Peyton Krebs and Josh Doan, and is also on the first power-play unit; he has three goals on the man advantage.
• Rasmus Dahlin – who has the most points (28) of all Sabres defenseman – will not play on Saturday against the Bruins, per Buffalo head coach Lindy Ruff. The 25-year-old has four goals and 24 assists through 33 games.