Sabres at Senators preview

SABRES (21-35-11) at SENATORS (23-32-10)
7:30 p.m. ET; TSN5, RDS2, MSG-B, NHL.TV

Goalie Craig Anderson is expected to start for the Senators, who are 2-1-0 after a five-game losing streak (0-4-1) but 17 points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
The Sabres play the second half of a back to back after losing 5-1 to the Calgary Flames on Wednesday. Buffalo is last in the East, three points behind Ottawa.

Players to watch

Sabres center Ryan O'Reilly has 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in his past 12 games.
Senators forward Mark Stone has 14 points (two goals, 12 assists) in a nine-game point streak.

They said it

"They got the start they wanted and we didn't have a push back. From top to bottom, it was really ugly. It's disappointing because you think we're going in the right direction… That's just where we're at right now. Consistency." -- Sabres coach Phil Housley after the loss Wednesday
"It's hard obviously with all the travel, with playing almost every second day here in this league, which is definitely different from what I'm used to. It's been fun, it's been a challenge, it's hard at times, but I'm in the place I've always wanted to be and I'm just enjoying being here." -- Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot on making the jump from the QMJHL to the NHL

Sabres projected lineup

Zemgus Girgensons -- Ryan O'Reilly -- Sam Reinhart
Jordan Nolan -- Jacob Josefson -- Kyle Okposo
Scott Wilson -- Johan Larsson -- Jason Pominville
Seth Griffith -- Benoit Pouliot -- Nick Baptiste
Marco Scandella -- Rasmus Ristolainen
Brendan Guhle -- Casey Nelson
Nathan Beaulieu -- Victor Antipin
Robin Lehner
Chad Johnson
Scratched:Daniel O'Regan, Josh Gorges, Justin Falk
Injured:Jack Eichel (high-ankle sprain), Kyle Criscuolo (shoulder), Evan Rodrigues (upper body), Jake McCabe (shoulder), Zach Bogosian (hip)

Senators projected lineup

Ryan Dzingel -- Matt Duchene -- Mike Hoffman
Bobby Ryan -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Mark Stone
Magnus Paajarvi -- Zack Smith -- Tom Pyatt
Marian Gaborik -- Jim O'Brien -- Alexandre Burrows
Fredrik Claesson -- Erik Karlsson
Ben Harpur -- Cody Ceci
Mark Borowiecki -- Thomas Chabot
Craig Anderson
Mike Condon
Scratched:Max McCormick, Erik Burgdoerfer
Injured:Chris Wideman (hamstring)

Status report

Pyatt will play after missing the game Monday against the Dallas Stars with the flu.

Stat pack

The Sabres have scored two goals or fewer in seven of their past 10 games. … Karlsson has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past four games.