February 4

The Buffalo Sabres will look to sweep their four-game homestand when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets at KeyBank Center on Tuesday.

The Sabres survived a late push from the New Jersey Devils on Sunday to earn a 4-3 win, their third in a row. Tage Thompson had a goal and two assists but left the game during the third period following a high hit from Devils forward Stefan Noesen.

Thompson, named Monday as the NHL's Second Star of the Week, is unavailable for Tuesday's game. Sabres coach Lindy Ruff labeled him "day-to-day" and doesn't expect him to miss much time.

Columbus enters the night having dealt with its own share of injuries, including the loss of leading goal scorer Kirill Marchenko to a broken jaw during a 5-3 loss in Dallas on Sunday.

The puck drops at 7 p.m. Here’s what you need to know until then.

How to watch

TV (Buffalo broadcast market): MSG (Pregame coverage begins at 6:30 p.m.)

Streaming (out of market): ESPN+

Radio: WGR 550

Click here for more ways to watch Sabres games.

Lineup notes (7 p.m.)

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was absent from warmups and will not play. James Reimer will get the start in his place while Felix Sandstrom, who was recalled from Rochester prior to the game, will back up.

Defenseman Mattias Samuelsson will also miss the game with a lower-body injury.

Forward Tyson Kozak remains unavailable due to an illness.

"He was here today, skated early," Ruff said. "Last I heard, he was down seven pounds. ...We’re hoping that he can skate on his own tomorrow or the next day and maybe be ready by Friday."

Here are the lines from warmups:

Forwards
63 Isak Rosen20 Jiri Kulich77 JJ Peterka
17 Jason Zucker24 Dylan Cozens89 Alex Tuch
9 Zach Benson71 Ryan McLeod22 Jack Quinn 
29 Beck Malenstyn19 Peyton Krebs
DefensemenGoalies
4 Bowen Byram26 Rasmus Dahlin47 James Reimer
25 Owen Power75 Connor Clifton32 Felix Sandstrom
78 Jacob Bryson10 Henri Jokiharju
8 Dennis Gilbert

Storylines

1. Rosen's return

The Sabres on Monday recalled forward Isak Rosen from the Rochester Americans. The 21-year-old has seven goals in his last four games and ranks second in the AHL with 23 this season.

Ruff acknowledged that while call-ups typically play bottom-line minutes at first, Rosen's current hot streak and established chemistry with Jiri Kulich merit a first-line role.

"We’re gonna put him right up there with Kuli and JJ (Peterka), let him go," Ruff said. "There’s a great connection there between Kuli and him, and I’m looking forward to seeing that. A lot of times, given a bigger role, a guy can show more. So the plan is to try to give him a really good look.

"JJ and Kuli have really been going well. He’s really been going well down there. I’m excited to see him get this opportunity."

Rosen learned of Monday's promotion while participating in AHL All-Star festivities in Coachella Valley, Calif.

"Big honor," he said. "It was fun to be there for one day, but now I’m super happy to be here."

Tuesday will mark Rosen's ninth career NHL game and second this season; he skated 6:29 in the Nov. 23 win at San Jose. Kulich's recent success with the Sabres, Rosen says, inspires confidence that his skills, too, will translate to the NHL level.

"Just a great example to see – I played with him for two years – just to see how good he is and how good I think I am too," Rosen said. "I really believe I can transition here as well."

2. Scouting the Blue Jackets

Marchenko – who ranks first on the team with 21 goals and second with 55 points – joined a long list of Blue Jackets players on injured reserve when a shot into the Columbus bench left him with a broken jaw during Sunday’s loss in Dallas.

Columbus is also without top-line center Sean Monahan, captain Boone Jenner, forward Yegor Chinakov, and defenseman Erik Gudbranson, all of whom have missed varying amounts of time on IR. Defenseman Dante Fabbro also sustained an injury on Sunday.

Zach Werenski ranks second among NHL defensemen with 17 goals and third with 57 points but he, too, will miss the game with an injury.

The Blue Jackets have weathered the injuries to this point, entering Tuesday in the Eastern Conference’s second wild card spot with 59 points. They are 14-5-2 in 21 games since Dec. 19 and rank third in the NHL with 70 goals scored during that stretch.

Forward Kent Johnson enters Tuesday on a seven-game point streak, with three goals and five assists in that span.

Game notes

  • Peterka, who scored in the win over the Devils, has nine points (5+4) in the last six games.
  • Rasmus Dahlin had two assists against the Devils to up his total to 20 in the last 18 games.
  • Owen Power enters Tuesday on a four-game assist streak.