Sabres at Sharks preview

SABRES (6-1-1) at SHARKS (3-4-0)
10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, MSG-B, NHL.TV

The Sharks have outscored their opponents 13-7 during their three-game winning streak, following losing their first four games of the season (0-4-0) in which they were outscored 17-5.
Goalie Linus Ullmark (1-1-1, 3.24 goals-against average, .915 save percentage) will start for the Sabres.
This is the first game of a home-and-home set; the Sabres will host the Sharks on Tuesday.

Players to watch

Sabres center Jack Eichel leads the team with four goals, six assists and 10 points including three multi-point games.
Sharks center Logan Couture has a goal and five assists in a five-game point streak including an assist in four straight games.

They said it

"It's fun to have a back to back like this, and it also evens the playing field in terms of travel, which is a good thing. We have a lot of respect for the history, and the last decade, of this club how they've been competing at the top of the League. … It will be a lot of fun to challenge the experience and the youth of this group and look them eye to eye for two games in a row." -- Sabres coach Ralph Krueger
"They've got a lot of skill. When you look at their lineup, and they've got (Kyle) Okposo on the fourth line, that's a deep team. I think they're feeling good about it and we've got to find a way to slow them down."-- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer on the Sabres

Sabres projected lineup

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

Sharks projected lineup

Timo Meier -- Logan Couture -- Patrick Marleau

Evander Kane -- Tomas Hertl -- Kevin Labanc
Marcus Sorensen -- Joe Thornton -- Barclay Goodrow
Melker Karlsson -- Dylan Gambrell --
Noah Gregor
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon -- Erik Karlsson
Mario Ferraro -- Tim Heed
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched:Lean Bergmann, Lukas Radil
Injured:Jake Middleton (left shoulder), Dalton Prout (upper body), Radim Simek (knee)

Status report

Gregor was recalled from the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League and will make his NHL debut. … Simek remains out but is expected to travel on San Jose's five-game trip. ... Prout continues to skate but it is unclear if he will travel for the road trip. … Middleton is out 4 to 6 weeks. ... Hutton is expected to start Tuesday.

Stat pack

The Sabres have scored the first goal in seven of their eight games. … Erik Karlsson (three assists) and Labanc (two goals, one assist) each has a three-game point streaks. … Olofsson is the first player in NHL history to score each of his first eight goals on the power play since goals by type became an official statistic in 193-34. … Hertl has five points (two goals, three assists) in his past two games.