Anaheim @ Buffalo preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 16, 2019 ) Buffalo 2, Anaheim 5

The Buffalo Sabres found a better form last time out at Madison Square Garden and hope to show it to their own fans when they host the improving Anaheim Ducks on Sunday afternoon. The Sabres, who were 1-3-1 on the recent homestand, won for the second time in seven games (2-4-1) on Friday by taking a three-goal lead and holding on for a 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers.

“We play a real simple game on the road and stick within a very small picture of going shift to shift,” coach Ralph Krueger told the Buffalo News. “You can see everybody is all in. We’re dealing with some adversity at the end of the game as well. Everybody stays calm on the bench. We like our road game and now let’s take it home.” The Sabres have been passable at home overall (15-9-4), but still feel the sour taste of a 4-3 shootout loss to NHL-worst Detroit in their last contest at the KeyBank Center as they prepare to start a four-game homestand. The Ducks have been playing better of late with points in seven of their last nine contests (5-2-2) and showed some spunk by battling back from a two-goal deficit in the third period Friday before suffering a 5-4 overtime loss at Toronto. “I think we learned from our mistakes and that third period is what we need to base our game off of,” Anaheim forward Max Jones told reporters. “It’s a template for us to use for a full 60 minutes. Our puck management was simple and it led to turnovers on their part. It was the type of play we need to keep on showing.”

TIME: 3 p.m. ET. TV: Prime Ticket, MSG Buffalo, TVA

ABOUT THE DUCKS (22-26-7): Center Adam Henrique recorded his team-leading 18th goal Friday to match last season’s total, and scored twice against Buffalo in a 5-2 win at home on Oct. 16. Captain Ryan Getzlaf leads the way for Anaheim with 36 points despite being mired in a 12-game goal drought and fellow forward Rickard Rakell is next with 33, including a goal and four assists in his past five contests. Defenseman Erik Gudbranson left Friday’s game with an upper-body injury and forward Ondrej Kase (23 points) did not finish the contest as well after reportedly taking an elbow to the head.

ABOUT THE SABRES (24-23-8): All-Star center Jack Eichel set up a pair of goals Friday and has recorded 10 of his team-leading 68 points - tied for seventh in the league entering Saturday - in the last eight games. Forward Sam Reinhart reached 20 goals for the third straight season - fourth overall Friday - and is second on the team with 45 points while Buffalo welcomed the return of Rasmus Dahlin (27 assists, 30 points) Friday after the defenseman missed the previous two games with an upper-body injury. Carter Hutton (8-9-4, .894 save percentage) has won two of his last three starts after making 37 saves Friday.

OVERTIME

1. Anaheim F Derek Grant scored his career-high 13th goal Friday at Toronto and boasts three in the past four games.

2. Buffalo LW Jeff Skinner has yet to register a point in six games since returning from an upper-body injury that kept him out a month.

3. The Ducks are 1-for-16 with the man advantage over the last six games, scoring Friday, and have allowed six power-play tallies in the past four contests.

PREDICTION: Sabres 3, Ducks 2