OTT_BUF_Preview

SENATORS (29-45-6) at SABRES (31-39-10)
7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, TSN5, RDS2, NHL.TV

The Senators selected Daccord in the seventh round (No. 199) of the 2015 NHL Draft and signed him to a two-year, entry-level contract Monday.
Ottawa is 4-2-0 in its past six games.
The Sabres look to end a season-high eight-game losing streak (0-7-1). It's their longest skid since a 14-game skid (0-14-0) from Dec. 29, 2014 to Jan. 30, 2015. They are 1-13-2 in their past 16 games.

Players to watch

Senators forward Brady Tkachuk has six points (three goals, three assists) in a four-game point streak and nine points (six goals, three assists) in his past eight games.
Sabres center Jack Eichel has 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) in 12 games against the Senators, including at least one point all but two of those games.

They said it

"We got the young goalie coming in [today] so that will be hopefully an energy boost for our team because guys can always remember what it was like when they played their first game. It's the only time you get to do it and for a goalie I would think it's even more special." -- Senators coach Marc Crawford on Joey Daccord
"I've tried to soak in pretty much everything throughout my career. Since I've been drafted in '01, all I wanted to do was wear the sweater. I've been fortunate enough to do it for a while. The drive in this morning, I definitely was thinking about it." -- Sabres forward Jason Pominville, a pending unrestricted free agent who could be playing his last home game with Buffalo

Senators projected lineup
Sabres projected lineup
Status report

Nylander is day to day after getting cut on the back of his leg against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday and requiring stitches. … Ryan could be back in the lineup Saturday.

Stat pack

Smith needs one assist for 100 in the NHL. … Skinner is two points from matching his NHL career high of 63 with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2016-17.