Game Preview | 5 things to know ahead of Sabres vs. Predators

The Buffalo Sabres held an optional morning skate at KeyBank Center ahead of their game with the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night. Both teams are coming off 7-0 losses on Sunday and are looking to quickly rebound with a better performance.
The Sabres and Predators both find themselves in a similar position in the standings, sitting just outside of the playoff picture with a handful of games to go. With that in mind, center Tyson Jost said he expected both teams to play with a sense of desperation from the start, particularly after Sunday.
"This is a very important game, us and Nashville had a tough game too in their last game as well so they're going to be hungry, but so are we," Jost said. "This is an important stretch for us and it's important for these players to experience that. It's fun, this is the hockey you want to be playing, it's meaningful hockey. I love it, personally."

Jost, who was a healthy scratch for the last two games, will be back in the lineup tonight.
He scored a goal while skating on a line with Jordan Greenway and Casey Mittelstadt in the Sabres' 5-4 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals last Wednesday. Jost said the coaching staff stressed that the decision to sit him was based more on numbers and keeping guys fresh than Jost's play.
"That's the message that I kind of got from the coaching staff, not let this hinder my confidence and keep playing the way that I was," Jost said. "It stings, but at the same time we have a lot of good hockey players in this room. Obviously, I want to be out there every game helping this team win and that's kind of part of my identity, I put it all on the line every time I go out there."
Here are five things to know.

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1. The lineup

Jordan Greenway remains day to day with an upper-body injury and will not play tonight. The Sabres did not run line rushes during their optional skate.

2. Starting fast

The Sabres are focused on getting off to a fast start against the Predators. Buffalo has allowed the first goal in four of its last six games.
"We have to come with fire," Jost said. "We have to be a hungry and desperate team here and that's fun hockey. Just play free and know how good we are and know our abilities. When we're playing like that, you guys have seen it all year, we're a really good hockey team and we truly believe that."

3. Scouting the Predators

The Predators have lost three straight games (0-2-1) coming into tonight. Roman Josi leads the Predators with 59 points but is out tonight with an upper-body injury.
Nashville has not scored a power-play goal in the last four games and owns the league's 26th ranked power play overall at 18.4 percent. However, the Predators have been more successful on the road clicking at 21.1 percent, good for 11th in the NHL.

4. The standings

Here's the Wild Card picture entering tonight:
| Team | GP | Points | P% | Reg. W | ROW | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | WC1 - New York Islanders | 71 | 80 | .563 | 31 | 36 | | WC2 - Florida Panthers | 70 | 79 | .564 | 31 | 34 | | Pittsburgh Penguins | 70 | 78 | .557 | 25 | 33 | | Ottawa Senators | 70 | 73 | .521 | 27 | 32 | | Washington Capitals | 71 | 73 | .514 | 25 | 31 | | Buffalo Sabres | 69 | 72 | .522 | 25 | 32 | | Detroit Red Wings | 69 | 69 | .500 | 24 | 28 |

5. 'A conversation for us all'

The Sabres are partnering with #SameHere Global to host a pregame mental health panel at 6 p.m. inside LECOM Harborcenter's Marriot Ballroom.
Eric Kussin, a rising sports business executive who had his career cut short by a debilitating mental illness, founded the organization five years ago and will lead the panel. Kussin will also be featured in a first-intermission interview on MSG.
Find more information on tonight's event here.
The puck drops at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on MSG and WGR 550. Pregame coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. on MSG.
Tickets for tonight's game are still available and can be purchased here.