Buffalo @ Ottawa preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 16, 2019 ) Ottawa 2, Buffalo 4

Buffalo captain Jack Eichel's point streak officially ended when he missed Thursday's game but he'll try to hit the scoresheet in his 19th straight contest when the Sabres visit the Ottawa Senators on Monday. Eichel, who missed the 6-1 loss at Philadelphia with an upper-body injury, recorded an assist in Saturday's 3-2 victory over Los Angeles that snapped Buffalo's three-game slide.

Eichel has 16 goals and 16 assists during his run, which started in spectacular fashion when he scored a career-high four goals in a 4-2 victory over Ottawa on Nov. 16, and leads the club with 24 goals and 51 points. "He’s playing against top lines of other teams all the time, trying to shut them down and win those games within the game and that means a lot to him right now,” Sabres coach Ralph Krueger told NHL.com. “His offense is breeding out of that and it’s coming without the same pressure as in the past because he feels good about a strong defensive game.” Ottawa lost at Philadelphia 5-4 in a shootout Saturday and is 1-1-2 in its last four games since winning three of five. Anthony Duclair continued his scoring surge with his career-high 21st goal Saturday, giving him 11 goals in his last nine games.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, MSG Buffalo, RDS2, TSN5 (Ottawa)

ABOUT THE SABRES (17-13-7): Calder Trophy contender Victor Olofsson has four goals in his last five contests as part of a six-game point streak and leads all rookies with 16 goals and 34 points. "He's got underrated hockey IQ," Eichel told the media about Olofsson. "He sees the ice well and you can tell he's getting more and more confident. He's holding on to pucks and it's really good to see." Zach Bogosian returned to the lineup Saturday for the first time since enduring the first four healthy scratches of his career, and Krueger told reporters: “We’ve worked him hard and he’s embraced the asks from us as coaches, what we’ve requested to be a teammate and to work himself into the lineup.”

ABOUT THE SENATORS (15-18-4): Tyler Ennis scored twice against Philadelphia, giving him 10 goals and the club four double-figure scorers in Duclair, Jean-Gabriel Pageau (16) and Brady Tkachuk (12). Pageau, who has 26 points this season, leads the league's non-defensemen in plus-minus at plus-19. Rugged defenseman Mark Borowiecki had a goal and an assist versus the Flyers, and has two of each in the last three games.

OVERTIME

1. Eichel missed a chance to match Gilbert Perreault's club record with a point in 18 straight games that was set from Oct. 24-Dec. 4, 1971.

2. Ottawa has the worst power play in the league at 11.8 percent while Buffalo owns the third-worst penalty killing unit (74.3).

3. Sabres F Sam Reinhart (12 goals, 30 points) has three goals and seven assists in his last nine games.

PREDICTION: Sabres 3, Senators 2