Ottawa @ Buffalo preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 23, 2019 ) Buffalo 1, Ottawa 3

The Buffalo Sabres started to gain a little momentum with three wins in four games before the All-Star break and look to continue picking up points when they begin a five-game homestand Tuesday against the Ottawa Senators. Buffalo has won three of four to sit 10 points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and hopes to make up some ground while in front of the home fans at the KeyBank Center, where it is 14-6-3 this season.

“We put ourselves in this position and we need to dig ourselves out of it,” Sabres coach Ralph Krueger told the Buffalo News. “With the homestand coming up here, we have opportunity to get contact again to the race, and that’s what this season is about is being in the race. We’re not in it right now and we need to fight ourselves back into it.” The Sabres, who are expected to get left wing Jeff Skinner back in the lineup after the former 40-goal scorer missed 10 games with an upper-body injury, will try to continue the trend as the home team won the first two meetings in 2019-20. Ottawa snapped a nine-game losing streak with a win over Calgary before the break, but coughed up a lead late in regulation before falling 4-3 in a shootout Monday against New Jersey at home. Rookie goaltender Marcus Hogberg did his best for the Senators by turning aside 50 shots and the Swede will likely turn the net over to veteran Craig Anderson - 0-4-1 in his last five games - for the second of a back-to-back.

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: NHL Network. MSG Buffalo, RDS, TSN5

ABOUT THE SENATORS (17-23-9): Forward Vladislav Namestnikov scored for the third straight game Monday - a short-handed tally - as Ottawa netted all three of its goals on special teams. All-Star left wing Anthony Duclair was kept off the scoresheet against New Jersey and has not added to his team-leading goal total (21) in 11 games while posting three assists during that stretch, but tops the club with 33 points. Right wing Connor Brown boasts three goals along with four assists in the past four games to pull within one point of Duclair and center Jean-Gabriel Pageau managed one of his 31 points in his last five contests.

ABOUT THE SABRES (22-20-7): Skinner reportedly was placed on a line with center Marcus Johansson and Michael Frolik at practice Monday while captain Jack Eichel skated with Zemgus Girgensons and Sam Reinhart. Eichel registered 11 of his team-leading 62 points in the past 10 games and Reinhart boasts five goals and five assists in eight January games after scoring the lone tally in Buffalo’s 2-1 loss to Nashville on Jan. 18 before the break. Linus Ullmark (16-13-3, .914 save percentage) has seized the No. 1 goaltender position, allowing six goals in his last four games and winning three of them.

OVERTIME

1. Ottawa C Chris Tierney has three goals and an assist during a four-game point streak after his short-handed tally Monday.

2. Buffalo D Rasmus Dahlin is fourth on the team with 28 points and owns a goal along with six assists in January.

3. The Sabres are 5-for-15 on the power play in their past five games while Ottawa, last in the league at 12.8 percent, is 3-for-7 in the last three.

PREDICTION: Sabres 5, Senators 2