It is too early to classify a game as "must win", so this one will go under the category of "have to win". The Senators host the Buffalo Sabres on what proves to be "get-away" day for both teams, the night before both teams take off for the All-Star break. With travel arrangements made and a much needed week off starting tomorrow, the team that can remain focused for one more night will walk away with the two points in this one.
And the Senators need the points more than the Sabres, and they have to show it. The Sens played a magnificent game on Sunday against the Rangers, and they need to follow that up with one more similar performance heading into the break on a good note.
The Sabres lost to the Rangers 6-3 last night, traveled to Ottawa for this back to back so it should be advantage Sens.
The Senators will likely be facing former teammate Robin Lehner, who is still looking for his first win as a Sabre. Injuries have limited him to just 4 games and an 0-3-0 record. He sustained the injury and recorded a no-decision in the Senators season-opening win over the Sabres and Lehner was out from that point until January 15th.
I don't know if there will be any puppies on the line tonight (since it has become a "thing" since Sunday and is only bound to grow with bigger things, and I can only imagine some NSFW rewards will soon on the line as well), but Bobby Ryan could match last season's goal total of 18 if he can light the lamp tonight. Ryan is riding a 5 game point streak and has carried a lot of the weight on his shoulders in the past couple of weeks.
Because there will be no real break for Erik Karlsson, who will be headed to Nashville for the All-Star festivities, he took a well-deserved and much needed day off yesterday after having played at least 28 minutes in each of the club's last 18 games. He had a 4 game point streak (1G, 5A) snapped by Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers.
There was some good news in that Marc Methot skated at practice Monday and will be a game day decision. Still no sign of Kyle Turris however, so hopefully it is just a case of using this time plus the full week off for him to be able to get to 100% after the break.
The Sabres really have little to play for, sitting 13 points out of the playoffs and in the depth of the Austin Matthews sweepstakes, but the Senators can't afford to take anything for granted. They have lost 3 in a row, but the likes of Ryan O'Reilly and Jack Eichel can sneak up on you quickly if you aren't ready and you can bet Lehner would like nothing more than to get his first win as a Sabre against the team that dealt him away.
Again, not really "must-win" but for a number of reasons it is one the Senators need to win. They need to show they can beat the teams they should beat on a regular basis, need to build on a good performance in their last outing and need to enter the break still within a breath of a playoff spot. And if Mark Stone could pot a couple to get the monkey off his back and not have to stew about his slump for the entire break that would be a good thing too.