Sabres at Predators
The Nashville Predators return home after a rough road trip and try to right the ship when the Buffalo Sabres pay them a visit on Saturday. The Predators suffered a 3-2 overtime loss at Philadelphia on Friday to finish a 1-3-1 trek on which they produced only five goals, and Pekka Rinne has surrendered 13 goals in his last four games.
“We’ve been scoring a lot of goals during the year, but we lost three games in a row without a goal,” Nashville forward Filip Forsberg told reporters. “It’s not acceptable. It’s been better the last two games, but any way you put it, it’s not good enough if it’s just five goals.” Nashville has been strong at home (7-1-2) and will try to continue that against the young, talented Sabres, who defeated Carolina 4-1 on Friday to end their six-game losing streak. Rookie Jack Eichel took over the team lead with his eighth goal against the Hurricanes. Nashville has won five straight in the series, including a 3-2 triumph on Nov. 25.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, MSG, BELL TV (Buffalo), FSN Tennessee (Nashville)
ABOUT THE SABRES (9-12-2): Eichel tallied in each of his last two games to pass Ryan O’Reilly (seven goals), who tops the team with 17 points. Chad Johnson got the win Friday with 27 saves and has posted a .949 save percentage in his last six contests while recording a pair of victories. Captain Brian Gionta recorded his second goal of the season in the last game and veteran David Legwand scored for the second time in three contests after going 17 games without a tally.
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (12-6-4): Forsberg registered a goal and assist on Friday after going five games without a point for the Predators, who are 0-for-15 on the power play over their last five contests. James Neal leads a balanced offense with nine goals and 16 points while defenseman Roman Josi has notched 14 points. Gabriel Bourque left Friday’s game with an upper-body injury and his status is uncertain, while center Paul Gaustad (upper body) missed the contest in Philadelphia.
OVERTIME
1. Sabres LW Matt Moulson has gone 11 games without a goal but notched an assist in Friday’s win.
2. Nashville C Mike Fisher has recorded goals in each of the last two games to double his total on the season.
3. Buffalo C Tyler Ennis has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury and is questionable.