Sabres at Predators
The Nashville Predators nearly played themselves out of playoff contention following a rocky stretch of five-plus weeks starting in early December. The Predators have since turned things by winning six of their last seven games -- matching their victory total from the previous 18 contests -- heading into Tuesday night's matchup against visiting Buffalo Sabres.
Nashville won its third in a row with a come-from-behind 4-2 victory at red-hot Minnesota on Sunday to cap an impressive 4-1-0 road trip. "We knew how important this road trip was, the position we were starting in and knowing how tough it is to travel and all those things," Predators captain Mike Fisher said. "It's tested us in a lot of different ways but we've played real hard and we're coming into our own." The Sabres are tied for last place in the Atlantic but remain within striking distance of third in the division despite three losing streaks of at least four games. Buffalo is 6-3-1 in January after kicking off a four-game road trip with a 3-2 overtime win at Montreal on Saturday.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TVAS, MSG-B (Buffalo), FSN Tennessee (Nashville)
ABOUT THE SABRES (19-18-9): Robin Lehner was yanked midway through last week's loss in Toronto, but he rebounded with a 36-save performance at Montreal, including a spectacular glove save in overtime that had Twitter buzzing. "I really wanted to have a bounce-back game," Lehner said. "It was a good opportunity. These stages are why you want to play." Ryan O'Reilly set up the tying and winning goals by defensemen Cody Franson and Zach Bogosian for his fifth multiple-point game in the last nine.
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (23-17-7): Filip Forsberg scored just twice in the first 27 games this season but has turned up the offense by registering 11 goals over the past 17, including a pair of tallies against Minnesota. Forsberg, who paced the team with 33 goals last season, is making them count too by delivering three game-winners on the five-game road trip. "He playing great," Fisher. "He's finding the net and doing some great things and playing with that confidence we're used to seeing. It's awesome."
OVERTIME
1. Nashville has not lost in regulation when scoring first, posting a 15-0-4 record.
2. Buffalo ended a five-game losing streak in the series with a 4-1 win at Nashville in their last meeting behind Sam Reinhart's two goals.
3. Forsberg has five game-winning tallies in January, eclipsing the franchise record for a total in one month.