Senators at Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres attempt to complete a sweep of their four-game homestand when they take on the Ottawa Senators on Monday in a matchup originally scheduled for Feb. 20. Buffalo already had won two straight games at First Niagara Center before beginning the homestand with one-goal victories over Los Angeles, Calgary and Florida. Captain Brian Gionta scored the tying goal 8 1/2 minutes into the third period and defenseman Nikita Zadorov tallied 29 seconds into overtime as the Sabres edged the Panthers on Saturday for their ninth win in 12 contests.
Ottawa is coming off its third win in 11 games, a 3-2 shootout triumph at Boston on Saturday. David Legwand forged a tie early in the third period with a power-play goal and Bobby Ryan netted the decisive tally in the third round of the bonus format as the Senators earned new coach Dave Cameron his first victory. Each of Ottawa's last three wins have come after regulation (two shootouts, one in overtime).
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN5, RDS (Ottawa), MSG (Buffalo)
ABOUT THE SENATORS (12-12-5): Ottawa may have Milan Michalek (upper body) back in the lineup but will be without Zack Smith for several months due to a wrist injury suffered in Saturday's triumph. To replace the center, the Senators recalled Jean-Gabriel Pageau from Binghamton of the American Hockey League. The 22-year-old Ottawa native scored two goals in 28 games last season after recorded two and a pair of assists over nine contests the previous campaign.
ABOUT THE SABRES (12-16-2): Coach Ted Nolan believes his team could be without defensemen Andrej Meszaros and Josh Gorges on Monday. Both blue-liners were injured in Saturday's victory as Meszaros took a puck to the chin and Gorges came up lame after blocking a shot. Zadorov also notched an assist against Florida, giving him two points in the contest after recording just one over his first 18 games of the season.
OVERTIME
1. The first meeting of the season between the Atlantic Division rivals was moved from Feb. 20 to open that date for the Sabres' contest against the New York Rangers, which was postponed on Nov. 21 due to a snowstorm in Buffalo.
2. Ottawa has not won consecutive games since outscoring Detroit and Minnesota at home by a combined 6-1 margin on Nov. 4 and 6, respectively.
3. Buffalo is seeking its first four-game winning streak since capturing five in a row from March 19-27, 2012.