Sabres at Maple Leafs preview
Eichel tries to extend point streak to 17 games for Buffalo; Toronto home after 3-1-0 road trip
by Dave McCarthy / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
SABRES (16-11-7) at MAPLE LEAFS (16-14-4)
7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TVAS, TSN4, NHL.TV
The Game
Jack Eichel will try to extend his NHL season-high point streak to 17 games when the Buffalo Sabres face the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday.
The center has 29 points (15 goals, 14 assists) during the streak, which is tied for the third-longest in Sabres history with Tim Connolly, who had points in 16 straight from Dec. 23, 2009 to Jan. 25, 2010, and Rick Martin (Oct. 27, 1974 to Nov. 28, 1974). Gilbert Perreault holds the Sabres record at 18 games (Oct. 24 to Dec. 4, 1971). Dave Andreychuk had 17-game streaks from Dec. 31, 1991 to Feb. 4, 1992 and Oct. 18, 1992 to Nov. 14, 1992.
Goalie Linus Ullmark will start for the Sabres, who are 3-0-2 during a five-game point streak.
Goalie Frederik Andersen will start for the Maple Leafs, who went 3-1-0 during a four-game road trip that ended with a 4-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.
Players to watch
Sabres forward Victor Olofsson has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in his past seven games and has scored in each of his past two.
Maple Leafs forward Mitchell Marner has seven points (two goals, five assists) during a four-game point streak.
They said it
"Jack's commitment to the game without the puck has been tremendous for us, his leadership on both sides of the puck. He's just a world class athlete and is able with any space to make something out of it. There's very few players who are a threat one-on-one but he's definitely at the top of the pile." -- Sabres coach Ralph Krueger on Jack Eichel
"Any time you play a division rival, it's an important game. We have a chance to make up some ground here tonight." -- Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews
Sabres projected lineup
Victor Olofsson -- Jack Eichel -- Sam Reinhart
Jimmy Vesey -- Marcus Johansson -- Rasmus Asplund
Jeff Skinner -- Evan Rodrigues -- Conor Sheary
Zemgus Girgensons -- Johan Larsson -- Kyle Okposo
Jake McCabe -- Rasmus Ristolainen
Rasmus Dahlin -- Brandon Montour
Marco Scandella -- Henri Jokiharju
Linus Ullmark
Carter Hutton
Scratched: Zach Bogosian, Colin Miller
Injured: Tage Thompson (upper body), Vladimir Sobotka (knee)
Maple Leafs projected lineup
Kasperi Kapanen -- Auston Matthews -- William Nylander
Zach Hyman -- John Tavares -- Mitchell Marner
Pierre Engvall -- Alexander Kerfoot -- Ilya Mikheyev
Dmytro Timashov -- Frederik Gauthier -- Jason Spezza
Morgan Rielly -- Tyson Barrie
Jake Muzzin -- Justin Holl
Travis Dermott -- Cody Ceci
Frederik Andersen
Michael Hutchinson
Scratched: Timothy Liljegren, Martin Marincin, Adam Brooks
Injured: Andreas Johnsson (leg), Trevor Moore (undisclosed)
Status report
The Sabres will dress 12 forwards and six defensemen but Krueger said their personnel will not be confirmed until game time … Moore will return after missing 13 games with a shoulder injury … Barrie will play despite leaving after blocking a shot with his foot Saturday. ... Brooks was recalled when Moore was ruled out. He could play in place of Timashov.
Stat pack
Dahlin has two assists in two games since returning from a concussion … Hyman has five points (four goals, one assist) in his past five games.