Sabres at Golden Knights
The expansion Vegas Golden Knights have enjoyed a strong start out of the blocks while the Buffalo Sabres finally found their footing with their first victory of the season. The Golden Knights vie for their fifth win in six contests and second straight over an Atlantic Division representative on Tuesday when they host the Sabres.
Malcolm Subban, who got the nod on Sunday after Vegas placed Marc-Andre Fleury (concussion-like symptoms) on injured reserve, came within 30 seconds of a shutout versus his former team before settling for a 3-1 win over Boston. The 21-save performance earned Subban his first career NHL victory and helped the Golden Knights become the first team in the expansion era – and third in league history (Canadiens in 1917-18, Rangers in 1926-27) – to win four of its first five games in its inaugural season. While Vegas is cashing in to start the season, Buffalo nearly went broke with five losses before handing Phil Housley his first win with the Sabres in 3-1 victory over Anaheim on Sunday. "There's a lot of ways that they could have turned in the wrong direction, but they just stuck with it," Housley said.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, NHL.TV, MSG-Buffalo, AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain (Vegas)
ABOUT THE SABRES (1-4-1): Chad Johnson rebounded from a 6-1 drubbing at the hands of New Jersey with a 25-save performance versus the Ducks, although Robin Lehner likely will get the nod versus Vegas. The 26-year-old Swede is searching for his first win despite having yielded just six goals over his last seven periods. Jack Eichel leads Buffalo with five assists and shares top honors with Evander Kane in points (seven), with three and four, respectively, coming on the first three contests of the team's four-game road trip.
ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (4-1-0): With 30-goal scorer Jonathan Marchessault and Erik Haula sidelined by lower-body injuries, Alex Tuch and Vadim Shipachyov paid immediate dividends following their respective recalls from Chicago of the American Hockey League by scoring versus the Bruins. "They played a good game and they capitalized on their chances," Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said. "When you lose players like Marchessault, Haula and Fleury in the last game and you bring these guys in, they're a big part of our group. They played really well for us." James Neal (team-leading six goals), who was held off the scoresheet for the first time this season on Sunday, collected a goal and two assists - albeit with a minus-5 rating - in two encounters versus Buffalo last season.
OVERTIME
1. Former Sabres D Brayden Schenn has one assist this season while F William Carrier has provided a spark on the fourth line for Vegas.
2. Buffalo F Kyle Okposo hopes to end a two-game absence due to the flu with a return to the ice on Tuesday.
3. Vegas is just 1-for-21 on the power play this season, but is 13-for-14 on the penalty kill.