Los Angeles @ Buffalo preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 17, 2019 ) Buffalo 3, Los Angeles 0

The Buffalo Sabres' feel-good season briefly veered off course after captain Jack Eichel abruptly was scratched from their last contest, a decision that unceremoniously halted his career-best 17-game point streak. The shell-shocked Sabres followed with a listless performance, a situation they hope isn't repeated in Saturday afternoon's home game against the Los Angeles Kings.

"With Jack, it remains day-to-day. We'll make that call in the morning," Buffalo coach Ralph Krueger said of the availability for Saturday's game of Eichel (upper body), who collected 16 goals and 15 assists during a streak that fell one game shy of the franchise record. The Sabres mustered little in terms of chemistry without their captain, yielding three quick goals en route to dropping a 6-1 decision to Philadelphia on Thursday while falling to 8-11-2 in games he's missed over the past three seasons. Currently, Buffalo is in the midst of a three-game skid entering its tilt versus a Kings club that extended its point streak to six games (4-0-2) despite dropping a 3-2 overtime decison to Columbus on Thursday. "I think we're starting to play to our identity and playing better within our structure," Los Angeles coach Todd McLellan said. "We've just got to keep that rolling, we can't let this one keep us down and try to get a win in Buffalo."

TV: 1 p.m. ET, FS West (Los Angeles), MSG-B (Buffalo)

ABOUT THE KINGS (15-8-4): Jeff Carter has collected one point in each of the first five contests of Los Angeles' season-high six-game road trip, although McLellan didn't exactly give the 34-year-old a verbal bouquet after he scored against his former team. "Yeah, he as an individual, volume shooting, sometimes when you shoot from a bad angle or you just turn and sling a shot to the net you can surprise people and that's how he got his goal tonight," McLellan said of Carter. "We need a little bit more from a few other people like that, but he in that case is doing a good job." Captain Anze Kopitar, who leads the team in goals (14), assists (18) and points (32), remains one tally shy of tying Bernie Nicholls (327) for the fourth-most goals in franchise history.

ABOUT THE SABRES (16-13-7): Buffalo recalled Curtis Lazar from Rochester of the American Hockey League on Friday morning after losing centers Eichel, Evan Rodrigues (lower body) and Johan Larsson (upper body) to injury the previous night. Eichel and Rodrigues skated in practice on Friday, with the latter deemed day-to-day while Larsson is expected to miss the next two games. Lazar, who will be making his third stint with the Sabres this season, has recorded 16 goals and 36 assists in 252 career NHL games with Ottawa, Calgary and Buffalo.

OVERTIME

1. Buffalo rookie RW Victor Olofsson has collected three goals and four assists during his five-game point streak.

2. Los Angeles has scored the first goal in seven consecutive contests.

3. Sabres G Carter Hutton, who has yielded six goals in each of his last two outings, turned aside all 47 shots he faced in a 3-0 win over the Kings on Oct. 17.

PREDICTION: Kings 3, Sabres 1