Sabres at Lightning
The Buffalo Sabres continue to climb out of the early hole they dug themselves with solid work on the defensive end of the ice and strong goaltending. The Sabres allowed only 11 goals while winning six of their last seven games and look to topple the top-scoring team in the league for the second straight game Thursday when they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning. Jhonas Enroth turned aside 26 shots as Buffalo rallied for a 2-1 shootout victory over the Lightning on Tuesday.
“It’s a habit to win and we hope to keep it going,” Sabres forward Zemgus Girgensons told reporters of his team, which started the season 3-13-2. Tampa Bay has become used to winning while accumulating the most points in the league (37) through Tuesday’s games and will try to extend a five-game point streak (4-0-1). Ben Bishop, among the league leaders with 15 victories, is expected back in net for the Lightning after being rested Tuesday.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, MSG-B, Bell TV (Buffalo), Sun Sports (Tampa Bay)
ABOUT THE SABRES (9-14-2): Girgensons surprisingly led the fan voting for the All-Star Game that was released Tuesday with plenty of help from his Latvian supporters, but the 20-year-old has put up impressive numbers with eight goals and a plus-6 rating. Girgensons scored the lone goal Tuesday and is second on the team with 14 points behind Tyler Ennis (16). Enroth is 5-1-0 in his last six games while allowing nine goals total and backup Michal Neuvirth stopped 40-of-42 shots in his last two outings.
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (17-6-3): One of the reasons Tampa Bay is among the best teams in the league is its depth of scoring options with five players boasting at least 20 points and six with seven goals or more. The line of captain Steven Stamkos, Ryan Callahan and Alex Killorn cooled off the last two games while the trio of Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov combined for nine points. Valtteri Filppula owns 20 points on another unit and fourth-line center Brian Boyle has registered five goals.
OVERTIME
1. Tampa Bay averages 3.50 goals per game and Buffalo is last in the league at 1.64.
2. Sabres captain Brian Gionta has recorded 13 goals, 13 assists and a plus-11 rating in 39 career games against the Lightning.
3. Tampa Bay is 10-2-1 at home while outscoring its opposition 49-27 and Buffalo has scored 17 goals in 11 road contests (4-7-0).