Sabres at Devils
The New Jersey Devils received quite the spark in their last game and hope it carries over against a team in dire need of one when they host the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday. Jaromir Jagr recorded his 15th career hat trick in New Jersey's 5-2 victory over Philadelphia on Saturday, marking the team's third win in 13 contests (3-7-3). With 714 career goals, the 42-year-old moved within three of Hall-of-Famer Phil Esposito for fifth place on the NHL's all-time list.
While Jagr was torching one of his former teams, Buffalo was getting blitzed by another one as it yielded four first-period goals en route to a 6-1 drubbing by the New York Rangers on Saturday. Drew Stafford scored his first goal since Dec. 6 for the Sabres, who have dropped four in a row and eight of their last nine (1-7-1) on the heels of a 10-3-0 surge from Nov. 15-Dec. 15. Buffalo can take solace in knowing that it went 2-0-1 in three meetings with New Jersey last season.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG (Buffalo, New Jersey)
ABOUT THE SABRES (14-23-3): With the team's strong stretch still fresh in his mind, defenseman Tyler Myers wants to see a positive outlook when he returns to the lineup after missing seven games due to a lower-body injury. "The way we went during our winning streak, it brought a belief factor in the room I think we've been lacking a little bit in the last year or two," Myers told the Buffalo News on Monday. "... We've been on a little bit of a downhill here lately, and it's just a matter of doing things as a group that we know we have to do to give ourselves a chance. If we don't do that, we know things aren't going to go well." Myers leads the club in ice time (25:21).
ABOUT THE DEVILS (14-20-7): The flu is running rampant throughout New Jersey's locker room as Martin Havlat joined defenseman Eric Gelinas in missing practice on Monday. "It seems like it's day by day," general manager Lou Lamoriello told the Bergen (N.J.) Record. "I was surprised on Havlat because he seemed OK after the game (Saturday), but that's what going on right now." Havlat had missed four straight contests before returning versus Montreal on Friday while Gelinas has sat out two games with the flu.
OVERTIME
1. New Jersey G Cory Schneider has been confirmed to start against Buffalo, versus which he has dropped four of five decisions (1-2-2) despite posting a 1.76 goals-against average.
2. Sabres C Tyler Ennis scored twice in his team's 3-2 shootout win over the Devils on April 1 but has just one point (a goal) in his last six contests.
3. New Jersey RW Steve Bernier (hip), C Jacob Josefson (flu) and D Peter Harrold (upper body) returned to practice on Monday, but none were confirmed to play versus Buffalo.