Devils at Sabres
The New Jersey Devils attempt to complete a sweep of the three-game season series when they visit the Buffalo Sabres on Friday. New Jersey defeated the last-place Sabres twice at home, posting a 4-1 triumph on Jan. 6 before needing a shootout to top Buffalo 2-1 on Feb. 17. The Devils enter the final matchup with a three-game point streak, having beaten Arizona and Pittsburgh after dropping a shootout decision in Colorado on March 12.
Buffalo resides in the league basement with 47 points but trails the Coyotes by only three with 12 games remaining. The Sabres halted a seven-game slide (0-5-2) with a 2-1 shootout victory at Boston on Tuesday, with Tyler Ennis scoring the lone goal of the bonus format in the first round. Buffalo was outshot 26-10 over the first two periods but trailed by only one tally before defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen knotted the contest 83 seconds into the third session.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG (New Jersey, Buffalo)
ABOUT THE DEVILS (30-29-11): Keith Kinkaid is expected to make his 10th career start Friday. Cory Schneider, who posted his fifth shutout of the season Tuesday against the Penguins, will return to the crease Saturday versus the New York Islanders. Patrik Elias is likely to miss his third consecutive contest due to back spasms.
ABOUT THE SABRES (20-43-7): Anders Lindback got the monkey off his back Tuesday, making 44 saves en route to his first win in seven games since being acquired from Dallas. The 26-year-old Swede has posted only three victories in 16 decisions this season and has yet to eclipse his career-high total of 11 set as a rookie with Nashville in 2010-11. "I only care about winning," Lindback said. "If you're a winning goalie, you're going to be successful in this league."
OVERTIME
1. The Devils are 12 points behind Boston for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 12 games remaining.
2. Buffalo D Zach Bogosian will miss his fourth straight game due to a lower-body injury.
3. New Jersey has climbed above the .500 mark for the first time since Nov. 14, when it was 8-7-2.