Islanders at Sabres
The wind may have been taken out of the sails of the New York Islanders after seeing superstar John Tavares limp off the ice in their last contest. With their captain's status declared week-to-week because of a lower-body injury, the Islanders look to forge ahead and keep alive their flickering postseason hopes Sunday afternoon when they open a four-game road trip against the Buffalo Sabres.
"It's not a great scenario, obviously. John is a huge engine and plays every single situation we've asked. It's a big blow anytime you see your best player go down," New York coach Doug Weight told reporters of Tavares (team-leading 66 points) on the heels of his team snapping a three-game skid with a 2-1 triumph over New Jersey. Yes, injuries happen but the Islanders are not in position to absorb such a substantial loss as they reside six points behind Boston in the race for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with five games remaining. New York collected points in each of its last seven trips to Buffalo (4-0-3) and 12 of 13 overall encounters (7-1-5) after splitting the first two meetings of the season. Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (team-leading 39 assists), who scored in overtime in a 3-2 triumph over the Islanders on Dec. 16, returns from a three-game suspension for his hit on Pittsburgh's Jake Guentzel on Sunday for an eliminated Sabres team that has been idle since Tuesday's 3-1 setback in Columbus.
TV: 3 p.m. ET, Sportsnet, MSG Plus (New York), MSG Buffalo
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (36-29-12): New York features a walking wounded department as fourth-liner Casey Cizikas and defenseman Travis Hamonic are nursing upper-body injuries while Ryan Strome (broken wrist) and Nikolay Kulemin (upper body) are also being plagued by long-term ailments. "It seems like they're coming on us in this late wave. I've certainly been there," Anders Lee told Newsday, referring to his missing last year's playoff run with a broken leg sustained in the final week of the season. Lee snapped a tie with Tavares by scoring his team-best 29th goal and fourth in his last eight games Friday, but has been held without a point in both encounters with Buffalo.
ABOUT THE SABRES (32-33-12): Buffalo is turning toward its future in the form of UMass Lowell forward C.J. Smith, who is expected to make his NHL debut after signing a two-year, entry-level contract Thursday. "It was pretty awesome," the 22-year-old Smith told the Buffalo News of practicing with captain Brian Gionta and former Islander Matt Moulson. "It was a dream come true. Obviously, every child's dream is to play in the NHL, and finally the moment (has come)." Smith could serve as another key cog on Buffalo's top-ranked power play, which is clicking on all cylinders by going 7-for-10 in the last five games - although it was just 1-for-5 in a pair of December battles versus New York.
OVERTIME
1. Former Islander RW Kyle Okposo, who has six points (one goal, five assists) in his last four games, is in jeopardy of missing his second straight contest because of illness after missing practice Saturday.
2. Buffalo C Jack Eichel (team-leading 55 points) recorded 11 goals and 21 assists in his last 25 games, but failed to dent the scoresheet in both contests versus New York this season.
3. The Islanders' 27th-ranked power play entering Saturday is 3-for-33 in the last 10 games, although the club's penalty kill thwarted 31 of its last 36 short-handed situations in the last 15 contests.