Buffalo @ Arizona preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 28, 2019 ) Arizona 3, Buffalo 2

The Arizona Coyotes sit two points out of a Western Conference playoff spot as they host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. The Coyotes had a rare offensive outburst during a 7-3 victory over Tampa Bay last weekend as the team has averaged 2.08 goals while skating to a 4-6-2 record in their other 12 February games before taking on a Buffalo club which has the league’s fourth-fewest wins away from home.

Arizona lost 2-1 to Florida on Tuesday, getting a short-handed marker from veteran Brad Richardson, but should still consider the game a success as netminder Darcy Kuemper didn’t miss a beat in his first action since missing 28 games with a lower-body injury. “I felt better as the game went on,” Kuemper, who leads the league with a 2.17 goals-against-average, told reporters after making 23 saves Tuesday. “The more shots you face, the more you just start playing again. I felt good.” The Sabres had won five of six games when they began a four-game road trip Wednesday but followed a 3-2 loss in Colorado by falling short again in a 4-2 setback in Vegas on Friday. Jack Eichel has been held off the scoresheet in three straight contests for only the second time this season but leads the team with 35 goals and 42 assists - five shy of tying his career high of 82 points from a season ago.

TIME: 8 p.m. ET. TV: MSG Buffalo, FS Arizona Plus

ABOUT THE SABRES (29-27-8): Forward Dominik Kahun made his Sabres debut Friday after being acquired from the Penguins on Monday and made an immediate impact by scoring on his first shift off a beautiful feed from linemate Jimmy Vesey. Jeff Skinner (team-worst minus-15) scored his 13th of the year with 12 seconds remaining in the third period Friday for his second goal in four games since going 22 without one.Goaltender Jonas Johansson is expected to make his first career road appearance Saturday as the 24-year-old Swede made 25 saves Sunday against the Jets in a 2-1 victory - the first of his career.

ABOUT THE COYOTES (31-27-8): Taylor Hall has 25 points (six goals, 19 assists) in 31 games with the Coyotes after registering 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) in 30 games with the Devils. When Hall was acquired Dec. 16, the Coyotes were 19-12-4 but are 12-15-4 since while the Devils were 10-17-5 at the time and 15-10-6 since. Right wing Conor Garland has recorded a team-best 10 points this month and notched a goal and an assist as Arizona earned a 3-2 shootout victory in Buffalo on Oct. 28.

OVERTIME

1. Arizona is the league’s least penalized team with an average of 6.5 minutes per game.

2. Eichel finished with a career-best minus-11 rating in 77 games a season ago but is a plus-10 in 63 games this season.

3. The Sabres and Coyotes each have four short-handed goals this season - tied for fifth-fewest in the NHL.

PREDICTION: Coyotes 3, Sabres 1