Sabres at Devils
Riding a four-game losing streak and coming off a pair of disheartening setbacks, the New Jersey Devils open a six-game homestand against the league-worst Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night. The Devils have scored only five goals during the four-game skid and their fleeting playoff hopes took another major hit after consecutive road losses at Central Division powers Chicago and Nashville over the weekend. The home team has won seven in a row in the series.
The Sabres, who have dropped three in a row and 18 of 20, have already turned their attention to the future by making a pair of major trades and New Jersey could be following suit after a pair of morale-sapping defeats. "You work hard in two games in 27 hours and you come away with nothing to show for it, it's like you might as well not have shown up," goaltender Cory Schneider said. New Jersey and Buffalo rank 28th and 30th, respectively, in scoring.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports
ABOUT THE SABRES (16-37-3): Defenseman Zach Bogosian, acquired in the blockbuster deal that sent Drew Stafford and defenseman Tyler Myers to Winnipeg, made a quite an impression in his Buffalo debut. Bogosian logged a game-high 24 minutes, 49 seconds, blocked a pair of shots and doled out 11 hits - a season high for the Sabres - in Sunday's 2-1 loss to Philadelphia. "He's exactly what we ordered," coach Ted Nolan said. "That's the type of play we want to get to and maintain and have a whole group doing the same thing. We're starting to get bits and pieces of it."
ABOUT THE DEVILS (21-26-9): Even though New Jersey's offense has done next-to-nothing since the All-Star break, Steve Bernier continues to produce with seven goals over the past 12 games after tallying only three times in his first 29 contests this season. Leading scorer Jaromir Jagr, who turned 43 Sunday and needs one tally to tie Phil Esposito (717 goals) for fifth place on the all-time list, thinks he could be sent packing before the March 2 trade deadline. "What's the reason to keep me?" Jagr said after Monday's practice. "I'm not important to this team."
OVERTIME
1. Jagr has 42 goals and 98 points in 81 games against Buffalo.
2. Buffalo, which is an NHL-worst 5-20-1 away from home, has been limited to two goals or fewer in 16 of its last 20 games.
3. Schneider is 2-2-2 with a 1.64 goals-against average versus the Sabres.