Sabres at Kings
The Buffalo Sabres gained a moral victory by ending their lengthy goal-scoring drought. They shoot for an actual win Thursday as they continue their four-game road trip against the Los Angeles Kings. Buffalo began its trek in Anaheim on Wednesday and came within 5:06 of being shut out for a franchise-record third straight game before Tyler Ennis snapped the club's scoreless streak at 196 minutes, 59 seconds.
Los Angeles looks to remain perfect on its homestand despite being without one of its top defensemen. The Kings have won the first four contests of their six-game stretch at Staples Center, allowing a total of three goals in the process. They will be without Slava Voynov, however, as the 24-year-old Russian was suspended indefinitely by the league on Monday after being arrested for an alleged domestic violence incident.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, MSG (Buffalo), FSN West (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE SABRES (1-6-0): Buffalo has scored a total of eight goals in its seven games, with four players accounting for the tallies. Ennis leads the way with three, Marcus Foligno and Zemgus Girgensons have two apiece and Torrey Mitchell has the other. The Sabres are one of three teams in the league without a power-play goal as they failed to convert on two opportunities in Anaheim to fall to 0-for-24 on the season.
ABOUT THE KINGS (4-1-1): The Los Angeles County district attorney's office has requested "additional follow-up" from Redondo Beach police before deciding whether or not to file charges against Voynov, whose court date has been set for Dec. 1. Voynov's attorney, Craig Renetzky, told the Los Angeles Times he believes his client will be cleared as a result of information from the woman in question. "She was very clear he did not punch her, he did not hit her in any way," Rentezky said after interviewing the woman. "Based on what she is telling me, there's no crime here. There's certainly not enough to bring criminal charges."
OVERTIME
1. Kings C Jordan Nolan will face a team coached by his father Ted for the first time in the NHL.
2. Buffalo rookie C Sam Reinhart lost seven of his eight faceoffs Wednesday and is just 14-for-43 (24.6 percent) on the season.
3. With Voynov out, fellow D Jake Muzzin will be in the lineup as he was cleared to make his season debut after suffering an upper-body injury during training camp.