Islanders at Sabres
The New York Islanders have won three in a row and are 9-1-2 in their last 12 games to strengthen their grip on first place in the Metropolitan Division. The Islanders bid to add to those totals and post a sixth win in seven outings over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday when the clubs meet at KeyBank Center.
Robin Lehner has been instrumental in the ascent of the Islanders, posting a 13-2-1 mark with a 1.53 goals-against average and .947 save percentage in his last 16 decisions. Included in that stretch is a season-high 39-save performance in a 3-1 win against his former team, which represented the 27-year-old Swede's first visit to Buffalo since he departed a game on March 29 against Detroit because of a panic attack -- he was subsequently treated for alcohol addiction and also diagnosed with bipolar disorder, ADHD and PTSD. Captain Jack Eichel extended this point streak to five games (two goals, four assists) with the Sabres' lone goal in Sunday's 3-1 setback to Winnipeg, dropping the club to 2-2-1 on its season-high seven-game homestand while keeping it just outside of the postseason picture. "Other teams are getting points and moving up the standings and we're not," the 22-year-old Eichel said. "I think the moral victories are a thing of the past at this point."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG-Plus2 (New York), MSG-B (Buffalo)
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (33-16-6): Ryan Pulock scored in New York's first game versus Buffalo on New Year's Eve and answered a one-point performance in January with two goals and five assists in his last five contests. The 24-year-old set up fellow defenseman Devon Toews' power-play goal in Sunday's 2-1 victory over Minnesota. "We're at the top of our division," Pulock told Newsday. "There are all those teams below us trying to catch us. It's good, though. If we keep winning, they're not going to be able to catch us."
ABOUT THE SABRES (27-21-7): While Eichel leads the team in assists (41) and points (59), Jeff Skinner (club-best 33 goals) set up the captain's second-period goal versus the Jets for his 50th point of the season. Rookie Rasmus Dahlin picked up the secondary assist on Eichel's tally for his 31st point, tying him with Jim Benning (Toronto, 1981-82) and former Sabre Doug Bodger (Pittsburgh 1984-85) for the third-most recorded by an NHL defenseman before his 19th birthday. Dahlin won't have to look far to find one of the members on that list, with Buffalo coach Phil Housley (57) and Bobby Orr (38) having more as an 18-year-old blue-liner.
OVERTIME
1. Former Islander RW Kyle Okposo was the lone Sabre to solve Lehner in the teams' first encounter, although he has just three points -- all goals -- in his last 11 games.
2. New York owns a 7-1-1 mark in its last nine road contests.
3. Buffalo went 0-for-5 on the power play Sunday on the heels of a 5-for-10 stretch in its previous four games.