Evander Kane skated with his teammates for the first time after suffering his Lowe body injury earlier this month.
Kane will not skate tonight.
Will Evander be ready to play next week?
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No Zemgus Girgensons tonight. Tim Schaller will play in his place.
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The Buffalo Sabres will kick off a grueling stretch if games tonight against some of the best of the west. The Sabres will play Dallas tonight on home ice. They will travel to St. Louis Thursday. Then it's off to Dallas Saturday and back home for St. Louis on Monday night. Sprinkle in games with Nashville and Carolina and the Sabres will have their hands full with a cornucopia of brutally tough opponents.
Dan Bylsma told WGR this morning that he thinks his goaltending has been "excellent' for the past month.
Ever since Robin Lehner suffered his high ankle sprain in the second period of the home opener versus Ottawa on October 8, Johnson and Ullmark have been clutch performers. Save for the blowout loss to Montreal last month, tge Sabres goalies have been giving their teammates a chance to win in every game.
Ullmark and Johnson have shared the four by six during the last four games. They have combined for a .949 save percentage, stopping 131 of 138 shots. The Sabres are 3-0-1 in those four games.
Bylsma also made it clear that he will need both of his goalies to continue to over deliver results.
Linus Ullmark will get the net tonight vs. Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, Patrick Sharpe, Jason Spezza and the high octane Stars. Ullmark is 4-2 with a 2.45 GAA and .924 save percentage.
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The Stars are the NHL's #2 PP while the Sabres are #4 PP
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Don't be shocked if you see Zach Bogosian play tonight vs. Dallas.
Bylsma spoke glowingly about Bogosian being Buffalo's best skating D. Bylsma also said that Bogo's unique suite of size, power, physicality, and hockey sense make it a daunting task to play against him.
Bylsma said that Bogosian will be a 25+ minute TOI man, and that he will be deployed against opponent's top lines. Look for Bogo to slide right in on PP and PK. Bylsma also hinted that he may even play Bogosian with Josh Gorges and Jack Eichel in future 3 on 3 OT opportunities.
Bogosian is a 200 foot player and Bylsma cannot wait to get him back in the battle.
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I expect Mark Pysyk to take a seat when Bogosian makes his return to the lineup. Bogo will slide over from his customary right D to play the left side. Bogosian has done so many times in his NHL career. Pysysk, also a right D, played some left D in Rochester last season. However, he has no left D experience in the NHL.
I see Pysyk as the easiest D to replace right now.
Why do I think Pysyk deserves to sit?
He is the odd man out.
Pysyk has one assist in 17 games played. He is an even plus/minus.
Jake McCabe has been a tower of power for Buffalo this season. McCabe is active in all three Ones. He's mobile, agike, and hostile.
Rasmus Ristolainen, Josh Gorges, and Cody Franson have been full value. All three have been leaders and are playing exceptionally well right now. Carlo Colaiocovo has been a steady performer in his role filling in for the injured Mike Weber for the past week.
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