Game Preview | 5 things to know ahead of Sabres at Oilers

EDMONTON – The Buffalo Sabres resume their push in the Eastern Conference wild card race when they visit the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Thursday.

The Sabres enter the day five points behind the Detroit Red Wings, who occupy the second wild card spot with 76 points. The Red Wings host the Islanders – who are two points ahead of the Sabres – at 7 p.m.

Pregame coverage on MSG/MSG+ begins at 8:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 9. Radio coverage can be found on WGR 550.

Here are five things to know.

1. The standings

Here’s a look at the wild card picture entering Thursday:

For a daily breakdown of the standings and games pertaining to the race, bookmark Sabres.com’s Wild Card Hub.

2. The lineup

The Sabres had new-look forward lines during their morning skate, including a move for JJ Peterka alongside Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch. Lukas Rousek will enter the lineup in place of Eric Robinson.

The full projected lineup is as follows:

FORWARDS

77 JJ Peterka – 72 Tage Thompson – 89 Alex Tuch

12 Jordan Greenway – 24 Dylan Cozens – 9 Zach Benson

28 Zemgus Girgensons – 19 Peyton Krebs – 53 Jeff Skinner

13 Lukas Rousek – 17 Tyson Jost – 71 Victor Olofsson

DEFENSEMEN

26 Rasmus Dahlin – 4 Bowen Byram

25 Owen Power – 10 Henri Jokiharju

78 Jacob Bryson – 75 Connor Clifton

GOALTENDER

1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

3. Changes on the power play

The Sabres will also have new looks on both power-play units after an 0-for-4 night in Vancouver on Tuesday.

Jordan Greenway skated on the top unit, manning the front of the net with Tuch in the bumper position, Peterka and Thompson on the flanks, and Rasmus Dalin at the point.

The second unit consisted of Zach Benson at the net front, Jeff Skinner in the bumper position, Dylan Cozens and Bowen Byram on the flanks, and Owen Power at the point.

“I thought we were stagnant the other night, in our own heads a little bit,” Sabres coach Don Granato said. “… We want to just have a better attack mentality, simplify. [Play] simple and direct, harder.”

4. Rousek joins the lineup

Rousek will play his first game since March 9, when he skated 12:58 in Buffalo’s shootout win over Edmonton. Granato described the 24-year-old earlier this month as bringing a combination of relentlessness and responsibility to the lineup.

“He doesn’t make a play at the expense of a play coming back against you,” Granato said. “He doesn’t put his linemates in a tough position with floating a pass into coverage that can be counterattacked before you can get into coverage, per se.

“He puts pucks in areas that makes it hard on the other team, makes if easier on our team. He has a great knack for it and a great intelligencer for it and he’s willing to work hard.”

5. Scouting the Oilers

The Sabres won their home game against the Oilers earlier this month in memorable fashion. They came back after falling behind 29 seconds in, celebrated after scoring an overtime goal that was overturned due to an offside challenge, and finally emerged victorious in a three-round shootout.

Within that, the Sabres did an effective job at limiting Oilers superstar Connor McDavid, who was held without a point for just the ninth time this season. Power and Henri Jokiharju each skated 10-plus minutes against McDavid at 5-on-5 while Cozens was McDavid’s primary matchup at forward.

McDavid ranks third in the NHL with 108 points and first with 82 assists. Zach Hyman leads the Oilers and ranks third in the league with 46 goals.

“You never feel like you limit that team because they’re so explosive and dynamic," Granato said. "You certainly go into tonight’s game very aware of how dynamic and explosive they are and obviously talented.”