Flames at Sabres
The Calgary Flames have had more success on the road this campaign than at home, and that bodes well for the Pacific Division team as it continues its season-high six-game road trip against Eastern Conference clubs when it visits the Buffalo Sabres on Monday. Calgary is just 3-7-0 at Scotiabank Saddledome but improved to 5-4-1 away from home on Sunday by posting a 3-2 triumph in Detroit.
The Flames have been riding the strong goaltending of backup Chad Johnson, who has guided the team to three wins while making four consecutive starts, allowing fewer than three goals in each victory. Calgary has struggled offensively over its last 11 games, as Sunday's contest marked just the second time it reached the three-goal plateau in that span. No team can relate to the Flames as much as the Sabres, who rank last in the league with 32 tallies and have been limited to two or fewer in each of their 10 games this month. Buffalo registered one goal for the third straight game on Saturday but managed to pull out a 2-1 shootout triumph over Pittsburgh to halt its six-game winless streak (0-4-2) and improve to 1-1-0 on its four-game homestand.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet West (Calgary), MSG (Buffalo)
ABOUT THE FLAMES (8-11-1): Calgary is 2-1-0 since Johnny Gaudreau went down with a fractured finger and is beginning to receive offense from other forwards to help compensate for the loss of the youngster. Veteran Matt Stajan ended his season-opening 19-game goal-scoring drought Sunday and Garnet Hathaway netted his first tally in 18 career contests while Mikael Backlund, who was skating in his 400th NHL game, scored for the first time in 10 matches and second time overall this campaign. "Our third and fourth lines chipped in with goals," Stajan told reporters after the win. "If you can get goals from throughout, you're going to have some success."
ABOUT THE SABRES (6-8-4): Kyle Okposo remains the team's lone player with a double-digit point total but is stuck at 10 after being kept off the scoresheet in each of the last two games. The 28-year-old trails Matt Moulson (six) by one goal for the club lead as he enters Monday with a seven-game drought. Defenseman Taylor Fedun, who is playing with his fourth team in four seasons, has notched an assist in each of his first two games with Buffalo - giving him nine points in 14 NHL contests - while rookie left wing William Carrier netted his first tally in eight career games on Saturday.
OVERTIME
1. Sabres C Cal O'Reilly paid immediate dividends Saturday, scoring the decisive goal in the shootout win over Pittsburgh after being recalled from Rochester of the American Hockey League earlier in the day.
2. Calgary D Dougie Hamilton collected three assists Sunday, leaving him one shy of 100 for his career.
3. Buffalo C Ryan O'Reilly, who has missed four games with an oblique injury, participated in Sunday's optional skate but remains day-to-day.