Senators at Sabres
Desperately trying to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, the Ottawa Senators will go for their third consecutive victory when they visit the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night. The Senators have little margin for error with only 11 games remaining, trailing the Detroit Red Wings by seven points for the final playoff slot in the Eastern Conference.
Ottawa is coming off a dramatic overtime victory versus Minnesota on Tuesday, getting a tying goal by Mika Zibanejad with 7.1 seconds remaining in regulation to set up captain Erik Karlsson's game-winner. "We're going to try and win every single game that we have left," Karlsson said. "That's the mentality we're going to have in here." The Sabres have gone past regulation in five of eight games this month, falling to 3-2-3 in that stretch after Wednesday's 3-2 overtime loss to visiting Montreal. The Senators have won seven of the last nine in the series, including two of three this season.
TV: 7 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN5 (Ottawa), MSG Buffalo, NHL.TV
ABOUT THE SENATORS (33-30-8): Karlsson, the first defenseman in franchise history to score multiple overtime goals in a season, also set up a pair of tallies Wednesday to become the first blue-liner since Nicklas Lidstrom in 2007-08 to collect 60 assists. The three-point night also kept Karlsson in position to finish among the league's top three scorers, a feat which hasn't been accomplished by a defenseman since Paul Coffey in 1985-86. Netminder Craig Anderson is 13-4-1 with a 2.15 goals-against average versus Buffalo - his most victories against any opponent.
ABOUT THE SABRES (28-33-10): Starting netminder Robin Lehner, who missed more than three months with a high-ankle sprain sustained in the season opener versus Ottawa, aggravated the injury Wednesday and was unable to practice Thursday. "It’s just the nature of the injury and dealing with it," Buffalo coach Dan Bylsma said. "A couple times he’s jammed it into the post and felt it a little more. It kind of happened a week ago and a little bit last night in the game. We’ll see.” Leading scorer Ryan O'Reilly had an assist Wednesday in his return from an 11-game absence.
OVERTIME
1. The Senators are 0-for-17 on the power play over the past seven games.
2. Sabres rookie C Jack Eichel has three goals and an assist in the three meetings with Ottawa.
3. Karlsson is five points shy of his career-high total of 78 set in 2011-12.