Sabres at Predators | How to watch, lineup notes, and storylines

The Buffalo Sabres are back in action on Tuesday against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena.

The Sabres will look to rebound from a 2-1 loss in Carolina on Monday. Hurricanes rookie goaltender Brandon Bussi made a highlight reel’s worth of saves to keep the Sabres from building on an early lead, including a save-of-the-year candidate on Tage Thompson.

“I think it helps with our schedule that we have so much hockey, there’s really no time to sit and think about it,” Thompson said postgame. “I think we come in the locker room after that loss, and you can look yourself in the mirror and be happy with how you played. Obviously, sucks not getting the results, but I thought we played hard, and we’ve just got to play the same way tomorrow against Nashville.”

Buffalo did get help from around the NHL, with Toronto, Florida and Washington also losing on Monday. That keeps Buffalo in the second wild card spot with 57 points.

The next test comes in the form of a veteran Nashville team which struggled to open the season but has come on as of late. The Predators have won four of their last six games, including a road win over the NHL’s top team in Colorado.

The game will see the NHL’s Stars of the Week go head-to-head. Thompson, named First Star of the Week on Monday, had 10 points in four games prior to being held off the board in Carolina. Predators defenseman Roman Josi was named Second Star after matching Thompson with 10 points in four contests.

The puck drops at 8 p.m. Here’s what you need to know in the meantime.

How to watch

TV (Sabres broadcast market): MSG (Pregame coverage begins at 7:30 p.m.)

Streaming: Gotham Sports App, ESPN+ (out of market)

Radio: WWKB 1520 / Buffalo Sabres App

More ways to watch/listen to Sabres games

Lineup notes (updated 7:30 p.m.)

Defenseman Michael Kesselring is out for a second straight game after tweaking his ankle injury, but coach Lindy Ruff said Monday that "it’s nothing that we think is too serious." Jacob Bryson and Zach Metsa will again comprise the third pair.

Alex Lyon starts in net, making his first appearance since sustaining a lower-body injury Dec. 29. Before going down, he won seven straight games with a .919 save percentage and 2.22 goals-against average.

Here's the full lineup from warmups:

Quick hits

• Rasmus Dahlin’s goal on Monday extended his point streak to five games, with three goals and three assists in that span.
• The Sabres are 4-1-1 in the second games of back-to-back sets this season. They won on such an occassion as recently as last Thursday, when they beat the Canadiens to sweep a back-to-back set at home.

Scouting the Predators

The Predators are 17-9-0 dating back to Nov. 26. Their 17 wins in that span are tied with the Sabres (and four other teams) for second-most in the NHL, behind Colorado.

The big names throughout the Nashville lineup have helped engineer the run. Former Sabres center Ryan O’Reilly had a hat trick in the win over Colorado and leads the team in points. Steven Stamkos ranks fifth in the NHL with 17 goals since Nov. 26. Goaltender Juuse Saros is 13-6-0 in that span.

“Early on in the year, they didn’t quite find their way, but they’ve found their way now,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “They’re making a lot of good plays, and [Stamkos has] been a big part of it.”

The stretch has Nashville back in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race, currently three points out of a wild card spot.