7:06 pm
December 22

Ducks @ Sabres

Who will WIN this matchup?

Anaheim Ducks (19-13-5)

@ Buffalo Sabres (20-11-5)

 

Starting Goalies:

John Gibson (ANA): Confirmed

Linus Ullmark (BUF): Confirmed

 

Current odds:

Anaheim Ducks: (-105)

Buffalo Sabres: (-115)

 

 Less than 24 hours after having his lengthy point streak halted, Sam Reinhart looks to begin another one when the Buffalo Sabres host the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday. The 23-year-old was kept off the scoresheet in Friday’s 2-1 loss at Washington, ending his run at a career-best 11 games. Reinhart scored five goals and set up 13 others during the streak, which included the 100th assist of his career. With 26 assists, he already has one more than he recorded in 82 games last season and is four away from matching the career high he set in 2016-17.

• The Sabres hope to avoid a third straight loss when they face Anaheim, which has lost back-to-back contests after beginning its six-game road trip with a pair of victories. The Ducks produced just one goal in each setback, including Thursday’s 3-1 defeat at Boston in which defenseman Josh Mahura netted his first career tally.

• Mahura became the fifth player to score his first NHL goal with the club this season, joining forwards Ben Street, Sam Steel, Kiefer Sherwood and Max Comtois. The 20-year-old Mahura, who was selected in the third round of the 2016 draft, had notched one assist over the first 10 games of his career. Captain Ryan Getzlaf, who leads the team with 29 points, needs one goal to reach double digits in each of his 14 NHL seasons – all with Anaheim.

• Reinhart wasn’t the only member of the team to have a point streak come to an end, as linemates Jeff Skinner and captain Jack Eichel saw their seven-game runs go by the wayside. Skinner recorded five of his club-leading 25 goals and four assists during his streak while Eichel, who tops the club with 46 points, netted nine tallies – four two-goal efforts – and set up five others on his run. Defensemen Jake McCabe (upper body) and Lawrence Pilut (lower body) returned to the lineup Friday after missing nine and three games, respectively, and combined to register three shots, two blocks and plus-1 rating.

• Ducks LW Pontus Aberg, who tops the club with 11 goals, is expected to play in his 100th NHL game on Saturday.

• Buffalo RW Jason Pominville sat out the loss to the Capitals with an undisclosed injury, which he suffered in Tuesday’s home setback against Florida.

• Anaheim C Adam Henrique has scored four of his seven goals this season on the power play.

5/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Buffalo Sabres