Okposo feeling better, hopes to play against Kings

Even hockey players get sick days, and Kyle Okposo was no exception when it came to practice for the Buffalo Sabres on Monday morning. The day of rest served him well. Okposo felt better on Tuesday, or at least well enough for him to join his teammates for their morning skate.
Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said that Okposo remains a game-time decision for Buffalo's home game against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.
"Obviously I'm not 100 percent," Okposo said. "But hopefully I'll get a good meal in me today and be back and be ready to go for tonight."

If Okposo does play, it will likely be on a line with Evander Kane and Jack Eichel, a trio we first saw at practice on Sunday. Okposo has spent the majority of the season playing alongside Ryan O'Reilly. When O'Reilly missed games, he played with Sam Reinhart or Johan Larsson.
Okposo admitted that the difference in styles between O'Reilly and Eichel will call for some adjustments to his own game, such as knowing when to cut to the net when Eichel has the puck. It's an adjustment he got used to making during his tenure with the New York Islanders, when he'd switch between playing with John Tavares and Frans Nielsen.
"You do some different things," Okposo said. "Any time you play with a different center it's a bit of an adjustment. I had a similar thing in Long Island playing with Johnny as opposed to Frans, both extremely good players but different also.
"I've been watching Jack's game and hopefully I'll get to know his tendencies a little bit. I think to start out we've just got to rely on our brains and the way we think the game and you've just got to let that take over and then you've got to let that chemistry form naturally."
The Sabres currently have 13 forwards on their roster, and Bylsma did not say which one would come out of the lineup if Okposo plays. Derek Grant missed the game against Washington when Nicolas Deslauriers returned to health last Friday, but that was due to illness.
Robin Lehner will start in net for Buffalo. Coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. with the TOPS Pregame Show on MSG-B, or you can listen live on WGR 550. The puck drops between the Sabres and Kings at 7 p.m.

Bogosian to practice on Thursday

Zach Bogosian was a full participant in the morning skate, which marked his first time on the ice with the team since he sustained an MCL sprain on Nov. 3. He won't play against the Kings, but he does expect to be a full participant again when the Sabres hold their next practice on Thursday.
"He's felt good on the ice, he's felt comfortable on the ice skating, he's gone through progression minus his teammates but has to get into practice," Bylsma said. "Today, albeit small, there is some reaction and some movement with the drills and that's a progression for him. The full practice would be super beneficial in seeing where he's at."
Bogosian has been skating hard and doing some contact drills during his skating sessions with Dennis Miller, which he says are as close to game-like as a practice can be. He said his knee feels comfortable, but added that wearing a knee brace for the first time in his career will take some getting used to.
The game against the Kings will be the 19th that Bogosian has missed this season after injuries limited him to just 64 games last season. Still, he says he's made it a point to remain patient and positive throughout the recovery process.
"I can't get frustrated," he said. "That's one thing I've always been able to do in the past is stay mentally strong and stay ready and make sure I'm trying to do everything in my power to get back as soon as possible.
"… I'm just trying to make sure I was staying happy, trying to be upbeat around the room, trying to be a good teammate and just go about it that way."

Kings focus: Unfamiliar in net, familiar everywhere else

The Kings have played the majority of their season thus far without goalie Jonathan Quick, who has been sidelined since Oct. 14 with a lower-body injury. Their backup, Jeff Zatkoff, has missed two stretches due to injury which opened the door for veteran Peter Budaj to make 22 starts, posting a .910 save percentage and winning 13 games in the process. He'll make his 23rd start against Buffalo on Tuesday.
Outside the net, however, expect the same heavy style of play you're accustomed to seeing when the Kings come to town.
"I think the Kings have a good understanding, a good sense of what they need to do to win hockey games and how they need to play and they stick to that through thick and thin," Bylsma said. "They haven't scored a lot of goals either and I think some people talk about them needing to score more goals, but they don't approach the game that way.
"They're going to defend and they're going to play a hard checking game and they're going to play that for 60 minutes. That's where they've had success, that's what they do well and that's what they're going to continue to do."