Sport Preview | 5 issues to know forward of Sabres vs. Hurricanes | Buffalo Sabres – NHL.com

Defenseman Owen Energy has not been dominated out for Sunday’s recreation.
Owen Energy skated with the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday morning sporting an everyday, white observe jersey for the primary time since showing in a non-contact jersey through the crew’s morning skates on Wednesday and Friday.
Energy has missed the final six video games with an upper-body harm he sustained throughout observe on Feb. 12, however has not been dominated out for Sunday’s recreation in opposition to the Carolina Hurricanes at KeyBank Heart.
“Owen – he must be cleared, and we’ll discover out proper now. However he’s very, very shut – if not tonight,” Sabres coach Don Granato mentioned. “I wouldn’t rule him out but, however we’ll see.”
Don Granato addresses the media
Buffalo will search for its third win in a row in opposition to Carolina, following a two-game highway journey that featured victories over Montreal and Columbus.
Pregame protection on MSG/MSG+  begins at 5:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for six. Radio protection will be discovered on WGR 550.
Listed below are 5 issues to know earlier than the puck drops.
Erik Johnson, who missed Friday’s recreation in Columbus attributable to sickness, will probably be again within the lineup in opposition to the Hurricanes. Granato mentioned Johnson will enter instead of Kale Clague.
The Sabres’ ahead strains are anticipated to stay the identical because the win over Montreal on Wednesday and Columbus on Friday.
Right here’s how they lined up:
53 Jeff Skinner – 72 Tage Thompson – 89 Alex Tuch
12 Jordan Greenway – 37 Casey Mittelstadt – 24 Dylan Cozens
9 Zach Benson – 19 Peyton Krebs – 77 JJ Peterka
50 Eric Robinson – 28 Zemgus Girgensons – 21 Kyle Okposo
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was the primary goaltender off the ice and is predicted to make his thirty first begin of the season after beginning in 13 of Buffalo’s final 15 video games.
Luukkonen has posted a 9-6-0 document courting again to Jan. 1, registering a .936 save share and a 1.75 goals-against common in that span. He ranks first in goals-against common and is tied for first in save share amongst all NHL goaltenders who’ve performed in at the least 5 video games since Jan. 1.
His efficiency has helped Buffalo enable the fewest targets within the NHL in that span because the Sabres have allowed simply 41 targets in 19 video games, together with 10 third-period targets since Jan. 1.
The Sabres will host Select Love Night time to rejoice Black Historical past Month whereas honoring the Black group and native Black-owned companies.
The night time will put a highlight on the artistry, entrepreneurship, and creativity inside the Black group all through Western New York.
Tickets are available here. 
For extra info on the night time, click here.
As Energy has been out of the lineup, Rasmus Dahlin has picked up additional minutes for the Sabres, skating 29 or extra minutes in every of Buffalo’s final 5 video games.
Dahlin is the one Sabres skater to take action for the reason that league started monitoring time on ice in 1997-98, in line with Sabres PR.
If he skates 29 or extra minutes in tonight’s recreation, it should mark the longest streak by an NHL skater since Erik Karlsson did so in seven straight video games from Feb. 25, 2016 to March 8, 2016.
The Hurricanes open a three-game highway journey in Buffalo after shedding 2-1 to the Dallas Stars at residence on Saturday.
Sebastian Aho leads Carolina with 22 targets and 61 factors in 54 video games within the marketing campaign. He’s presently driving a three-game level streak, with a objective in every of his final three video games and 4 factors (3+1) in that span.
Spencer Martin is predicted to get the beginning in objective after Pyotr Kochetkov performed in opposition to Dallas within the first recreation of the back-to-back set.

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