Post-Game Talk: #31| Buffalo Sabres @ New York Islanders | December 14th | 1:00 PM | F/OTW 3-2

[MattMartin]

Game Preview: Islanders AT Sabres​

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (21-7-2) VS BUFFALO SABRES (16-11-6)
1 P.M. | NYCB LIVE | BUY TICKETS
WATCH: MSG+ | MSG GO
LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 1050AM​

The Islanders wrapped-up a three-game road trip with a 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers on Thursday evening. The Isles never trailed as Devon Toews and Mathew Barzal scored power-play goals in the second period and Anders Lee iced the game with an empty-net goal. Thomas Greiss made 32 saves.

The Sabers open up a three-game road trip on Long Island on Saturday. Buffalo enters the matchup on a three-game winning streak, most recently coming off of a 4-3 win over Nashville on Thursday. The Sabres rallied from a 2-1 deficit as Jack Eichel scored twice, and Jimmy Vesey and Victor Olofsson also scored. Linus Ullmark turned aside 36 shots.

ISLES VS. SABRES:

Islanders lead season series 1-0-0
The Islanders and Sabres last met on Nov. 2 at KeyBank Arena where the Isles shutout the Sabres 1-0. The Islanders were in the midst of their 17-game point streak and the win was the Isles ninth-straight at the time. Derick Brassard scored the sole goal of the game in the first period. Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves.

The Isles have won four straight home games from Buffalo and are 6-2-0 in their last eight games overall vs. the Sabres.



ISLES NOTES:

- Toews scored his third goal of the season and first on the power play. The sophomore blueliner has 13 points (3G, 10A) through 30 games this season.

- Barzal scored his 13th goal of the season and third on the power play. Barzal leads the Isles in goals, assists (14) and points (27) through 30 games. The 22-year-old center has points in six of his last seven games with seven points (4G, 3A) in that span.

- Lee recorded his first-ever Gordie Howe Hat Trick in the NHL on Thursday. Lee assisted on Toews' goal, fought Brian Boyle and potted the insurance goal on Florida's empty net with three seconds left in the game. Through 30 games this season, the Isles captain has 18 points (9G, 9A).

- Jordan Eberle had two helpers on Thursday, marking Eberle's third multipoint game of the season. The winger has 11 points (2G, 9A) through 20 games this season.

- Greiss backstopped the Isles to their 21st win of the season and improved his record to 11-4-0. Greiss a has a 2.16 goals against average and a .932 save percentage.

- Greiss has split the pipes with Semyon Varlamov this season. The Islanders are first team since the Sharks in 2006-07 to alternate starting goalies for each of the first 30 games of the season. Varlamov has a record of 10-3-2, a 2.26 GAA and a .926 SV%.

- The Isles power play went 2-for-4 against the Panthers. In the NHL, the Isles power play unit is ranked 11th overall at 20.8%. The Isles are 10-1-0 when they score at least one power-play goal and are 11-6-2 when they don't light the lamp with the extra skater.

- Nick Leddy missed his second-straight game as he is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. In his place, rookie defenseman Noah Dobson suited up for his ninth game this season. The 19-year-old logged 11:24 time on ice, including 1:44 time on the power play and had one hit.

- The Islanders 2.33 goals against average is the second lowest in the NHL behind the Dallas Stars at 2.31.



SABRES NOTES:

- Eichel scored his 21st and 22nd goals of the season and recorded his second-straight two-goal game. The Sabres' captain is atop the team leaderboard in goals, assists (24) and points (46) through 33 games. Eichel is riding an impressive 15-game point streak that dates back to Nov. 16 with 27 points (14G, 13A) during that span. Eichel's 46 points are tied for fourth-best in the NHL with Boston's David Pastrnak. Eichel is second in the NHL in goals behind Pastrnak and eighth in the NHL for assists.

- Olofsson scored the game-winner and 13th goal of the season on Thursday. Through 33 games this season Olofsson leads NHL rookies with his 29 points. The winger has points in five of his last six games with nine points (3G, 6A) in that span.

- Vesey opened up scoring for the Sabres as he potted his fourth goal of the season. Through 30 games with his new club, the 26-year-old winger has 10 points (4G, 6A). Vesey is riding a three-game point streak with three points (1G, 2A) during that span.

- Sam Reinhart posted two assists in the win over Nashville. Reinhart has four points (1G, 3A) in his last two games and points in four of his last five games with seven points (3G, 4A) during that span. Through 33 games this season, Reinhart has 27 points (12G, 15A).

- Ullmark recorded his 10th win of the season to improve his record to 10-6-2. Ullmark has a 2.84 GAA and a .916 SV%.

- Casey Mittelstadt was healthy scratched against Nashville. Mittelstadt has nine points (4G, 5A) through 31 games this season. The center has only found the back of the net once throughout the past 22 games.

- Rasmus Dahlin returned to the lineup on Thursday for the first time since Nov. 25. The sophomore blueliner missed eight games with a concussion he received against Tampa. Dahlin recorded an assist in his return, logged 15:20 time on ice including 1:28 time on the power play, and had one block and one hit. Through 25 games this season, Dahlin has 17 points (1G, 16A).

- The Sabres are 5-1-3 in their last nine games.
.
.
.
.
Probable Starting Goalies:

Linus Ullmark

Goalies
Player	GP	GS	W	L	T	OT	SA	GA	GAA	S	Sv%	SO	MIN
Linus Ullmark	18	18	10	6	0	2	607	51	2.84	556	.916	1	1,079
Carter Hutton	15	15	6	5	0	4	463	46	3.05	417	.901	2	906

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

.
.
.
.
.
Semyon Varlamov

Goalies
Player	GP	GS	W	L	T	OT	SA	GA	GAA	S	Sv%	SO	MIN
Thomas Greiss	16	15	11	4	0	0	473	32	2.16	441	.932	0	890
Semyon Varlamov	17	15	10	3	0	2	476	35	2.26	441	.926	1	929

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

.
.
.
.
.
Player Stats:

Sabres
Player	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	PPP	SHG	SHP	GWG	OTG	S	S%	FO%
Jack Eichel	33	22	24	46	15	16	5	13	0	0	4	1	116	19	47.75
Victor Olofsson	33	13	16	29	6	4	7	11	0	0	2	0	81	16	0
Sam Reinhart	33	12	15	27	0	14	1	6	0	0	0	0	62	19.4	37.04
Jeff Skinner	33	11	7	18	-2	14	0	3	0	0	1	0	118	9.3	42
Rasmus Dahlin	25	1	16	17	3	20	0	7	0	0	0	0	33	3	0
Rasmus Ristolainen	33	2	13	15	10	26	1	2	0	0	0	0	68	2.9	0
Marcus Johansson	26	5	8	13	0	12	1	2	0	0	1	1	26	19.2	38.87
Johan Larsson	30	4	8	12	8	16	0	0	0	0	0	0	32	12.5	45.32
Jimmy Vesey	30	4	6	10	10	9	0	0	1	1	1	0	48	8.3	0
Henri Jokiharju	33	3	7	10	5	22	1	1	0	0	0	0	41	7.3	0
Brandon Montour	19	2	8	10	6	12	0	1	0	0	0	0	42	4.8	0
Zemgus Girgensons	33	5	4	9	2	8	0	0	0	0	1	0	39	12.8	48.65
Conor Sheary	27	5	4	9	4	4	1	2	0	0	1	0	44	11.4	0
Casey Mittelstadt	31	4	5	9	-5	2	1	2	0	0	1	0	34	11.8	46.49
Kyle Okposo	23	3	4	7	1	20	0	0	0	0	1	0	31	9.7	51.85
Jake McCabe	31	2	5	7	-1	16	0	0	0	0	1	0	39	5.1	0
Marco Scandella	25	2	5	7	12	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	32	6.3	0
Colin Miller	26	1	5	6	-6	8	0	3	0	0	1	1	40	2.5	0
Vladimir Sobotka	16	1	2	3	2	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	23	4.3	55.71
Rasmus Asplund	15	1	2	3	2	4	0	0	0	1	0	0	23	4.3	44.19
Zach Bogosian	10	0	3	3	2	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	0	0
Evan Rodrigues	17	0	2	2	-4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	29	0	52.29
Tage Thompson	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

.
.
.
.
.

Islanders
Player	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	PPP	SHG	SHP	GWG	OTG	S	S%	FO%
Mathew Barzal	30	13	14	27	14	14	3	6	0	0	2	0	64	20.3	41.91
Brock Nelson	30	11	12	23	-1	14	2	4	0	0	4	3	96	11.5	51.74
Josh Bailey	30	8	14	22	1	4	1	6	1	1	2	0	33	24.2	50.98
Anders Lee	30	9	9	18	6	16	1	4	0	0	2	0	70	12.9	42.86
Anthony Beauvillier	30	9	9	18	6	6	2	4	1	1	1	0	57	15.8	75
Derick Brassard	30	7	10	17	2	8	1	4	0	0	1	0	51	13.7	52.1
Ryan Pulock	30	4	11	15	0	6	1	4	0	0	2	1	65	6.2	0
Devon Toews	30	3	10	13	7	8	1	3	0	0	1	1	54	5.6	0
Nick Leddy	23	2	9	11	5	6	1	2	0	0	0	0	27	7.4	0
Jordan Eberle	20	2	9	11	-2	4	1	5	0	0	0	0	41	4.9	0
Scott Mayfield	30	4	5	9	5	17	0	0	0	1	1	0	49	8.2	0
Casey Cizikas	25	4	4	8	8	16	0	0	1	3	1	0	38	10.5	56.15
Cal Clutterbuck	30	3	4	7	9	20	0	0	1	2	0	0	33	9.1	44.44
Adam Pelech	30	1	6	7	4	18	0	0	0	1	0	0	40	2.5	0
Johnny Boychuk	29	1	6	7	3	10	1	1	0	0	0	0	45	2.2	0
Leo Komarov	15	0	4	4	2	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	12	0	28.57
Matt Martin	18	2	1	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	13	15.4	33.33
Michael Dal Colle	25	1	2	3	-1	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	16	6.3	75
Ross Johnston	16	2	0	2	2	35	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	22.2	100
Noah Dobson	9	0	2	2	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0	0
Tom Kuhnhackl	6	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0	0

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

.
.
.
.
.
Standings:

Eastern	GP	W	L	OT	PTS	RW	ROW	GF	GA	DIFF	HOME	AWAY	S/O	L10	STRK
1 Washington	33	23	5	5	51	16	20	120	95	+25	9-3-4	14-2-1	3-2	7-2-1	W1
2 Boston	33	20	7	6	46	18	20	111	84	+27	12-1-5	8-6-1	0-4	5-4-1	L4
3 NY Islanders	30	21	7	2	44	14	19	89	70	+19	12-2-1	9-5-1	2-0	5-4-1	W2
4 Carolina	32	19	11	2	40	13	17	103	86	+17	10-5-0	9-6-2	2-0	6-3-1	OT1
5 Pittsburgh	32	18	10	4	40	13	17	105	85	+20	13-4-2	5-6-2	1-0	7-3-0	W1
6 Philadelphia	31	17	9	5	39	12	14	97	88	+9	10-2-4	7-7-1	3-5	7-2-1	L1
7 Buffalo	33	16	11	6	38	12	15	105	100	+5	10-3-3	6-8-3	1-1	5-2-3	W3
8 Montréal	32	15	11	6	36	11	13	104	105	-1	8-7-3	7-4-3	2-1	4-5-1	W3
9 Tampa Bay	30	16	11	3	35	13	15	108	95	+13	8-6-1	8-5-2	1-0	5-4-1	W2
10 NY Rangers	31	16	12	3	35	14	16	100	97	+3	8-6-2	8-6-1	0-1	6-3-1	W1
11 Florida	31	15	11	5	35	10	12	107	104	+3	9-6-2	6-5-3	3-3	4-6-0	L2
12 Toronto	33	15	14	4	34	11	14	106	108	-2	7-4-4	8-10-0	1-2	6-4-0	L1
13 Columbus	31	12	14	5	29	8	12	76	94	-18	8-8-1	4-6-4	0-1	3-6-1	OT1
14 Ottawa	32	13	17	2	28	11	13	86	100	-14	8-5-0	5-12-2	0-1	3-6-1	OT1
15 New Jersey	31	9	17	5	23	7	8	75	114	-39	4-7-5	5-10-0	1-4	2-7-1	L3
16 Detroit	33	8	22	3	19	7	8	72	131	-59	5-11-1	3-11-2	0-1	1-9-0	W1

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

​

Click to read more...

 

[MattMartin]

Last Games Lineups​

Islanders
LW	C	RW
ROSS JOHNSTON Goals: 2 Assists: 0	MATHEW BARZAL Goals: 13 Assists: 14	JOSH BAILEY Goals: 8 Assists: 14
ANTHONY BEAUVILLIER Goals: 9 Assists: 9	BROCK NELSON Goals: 11 Assists: 12	MICHAEL DAL COLLE Goals: 1 Assists: 2
ANDERS LEE Goals: 9 Assists: 9	DERICK BRASSARD Goals: 7 Assists: 10	JORDAN EBERLE Goals: 2 Assists: 9
MATT MARTIN Goals: 2 Assists: 1	CASEY CIZIKAS Goals: 4 Assists: 4	CAL CLUTTERBUCK Goals: 3 Assists: 4

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS	Defense
ADAM PELECH Goals: 1 Assists: 6	RYAN PULOCK Goals: 4 Assists: 11
DEVON TOEWS Goals: 3 Assists: 10	SCOTT MAYFIELD Goals: 4 Assists: 5
NOAH DOBSON Goals: 0 Assists: 2	JOHNNY BOYCHUK Goals: 1 Assists: 6

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

.
.
.
Current Team Injuries.

Player	POS	Injury	Status (Updated)	Notes
Nick Leddy	D	Leg	Ques Sat (12/12/2019)	Leddy has been absent from the lineup during the previous two games with a left leg injury, and it is unclear if he will be available versus the Sabres on Saturday.

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

.
.
.
.
.

Sabres
LW	C	RW
VICTOR OLOFSSON Goals: 13 Assists: 16	JACK EICHEL Goals: 22 Assists: 24	SAM REINHART Goals: 12 Assists: 15
JIMMY VESEY Goals: 4 Assists: 6	MARCUS JOHANSSON Goals: 5 Assists: 8	RASMUS ASPLUND Goals: 1 Assists: 2
JEFF SKINNER Goals: 11 Assists: 7	CASEY MITTELSTADT Goals: 4 Assists: 5	CONOR SHEARY Goals: 5 Assists: 4
ZEMGUS GIRGENSONS Goals: 5 Assists: 4	JOHAN LARSSON Goals: 4 Assists: 8	KYLE OKPOSO Goals: 3 Assists: 4

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS	Defense
BRANDON MONTOUR Goals: 2 Assists: 8	RASMUS RISTOLAINEN Goals: 2 Assists: 13
RASMUS DAHLIN Goals: 1 Assists: 16	ZACH BOGOSIAN Goals: 0 Assists: 3
JAKE MCCABE Goals: 2 Assists: 5	COLIN MILLER Goals: 1 Assists: 5

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

.
.
.
Current Team Injuries.

Player	POS	Injury	Status (Updated)	Notes
Matt Hunwick	D	Neck	Out for season(10/01/2019)	Hunwick is expected to miss the entire 2019-20 season while on the injured reserve list due to a neck injury.
Vladimir Sobotka	C	Knee	Out indefinitely(12/12/2019)	Sobotka is on injured reserve due to right knee surgery. A timeline for his recovery has yet to be established.
Tage Thompson	RW	Shoulder	Late Dec(11/21/2019)	Thompson has been designated for the injured reserve list where he is projected to miss three to five weeks due to a shoulder injury.

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

xxxxx
Goals: 1 Assists: 1​	Goals: 1 Assists: 1​	Goals: 1 Assists: 1​
Goals: 1 Assists: 1	Goals: 1 Assists: 1	Goals: 1 Assists: 1
Goals: 1 Assists: 1	Goals: 1 Assists: 1	Goals: 1 Assists: 1
Goals: 1 Assists: 1	Goals: 1 Assists: 1	Goals: 1 Assists: 1

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Goals: 1 Assists: 1	Goals: 1 Assists: 1
Goals: 1 Assists: 1	Goals: 1 Assists: 1
Goals: 1 Assists: 1	Goals: 1 Assists: 1

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[Islanders4Cups]

Thank you. Nicely done as always.

So I take it Pelech is 100% after the taking the hit from Boyle. I predict Leddy will be back today and Dobson will be shipped to the WJs. Just my opinion.

Must keep the train rolling forward today. LGI!!!

 

[Big L]

Winnable game. Trap game? Need the usual 60 minute effort!

 

[Finnislander]

Prime time game for us Europeans. I got case of beer in fridge and day off tomorrow.
I have no doubt we win this. Just take care of Eichel, rest of the team is nothing special.

 

[FourRings]

Damn, didn't realize how many points Eichel has. He's crushing it this year!

 

[CREW99AW]

Win this in regulation and put a little more room between the Isles and Sabres.

Let's go Isles

 

[Strummergas]

Let's Go!

 

[CBG]

Heading into the City soon for a pitstop and then to the game but UGH roads are a mess - That said Lets Go Islanders !

 

[Bones45]

Prime time game for us Europeans. I got case of beer in fridge and day off tomorrow.
I have no doubt we win this. Just take care of Eichel, rest of the team is nothing special.

Glad you like it....I can't stand afternoon games.

 

[Finnislander]

Glad you like it....I can't stand afternoon games.

Wife wont let you drink before noon?

I usually watch the games on replay in the morning if I have day off. Or I wake up at 3AM to catch the game before going to work. So Im happy with this.

 

[scottywiper]

Damn 2am start. Better set the alarm!

 

[Bones45]

Wife wont let you drink before noon?

I usually watch the games on replay in the morning if I have day off. Or I wake up at 3AM to catch the game before going to work. So Im happy with this.

Ha! It's 1pm-4pm local time..so it cuts the day right in half. Fouls up entire day...

 

[Sabresbyswords104]

Would be nice if Sabres can get the winn. Will be hard because the Islanders are so good
defensively. Hope for a fun game not like the last one with only one goal.

 

[13th Floor]

Damn, didn't realize how many points Eichel has. He's crushing it this year!

Eichel has been awesome to watch this year. He's definitely emerging.

Just win baby.

 

[PK Cronin]

Ha! It's 1pm-4pm local time..so it cuts the day right in half. Fouls up entire day...

If only they developed a technology that allowed you to watch television broadcasts after they occur!

 

[Thrasymachus]

Would be nice if Sabres can get the winn. Will be hard because the Islanders are so good
defensively. Hope for a fun game not like the last one with only one goal.

I can offer you a point. I know you want two but I am running a business here and taking all the risk.

 

[Rengi]

Let the "Hockey Wars" begin at the barn... LGI!!

 

[SI90]

Usually don’t see Barzal that serious. Especially when talking to butch. He’s looking all business right now. I like it.

 

[SI90]

Wow. Didn’t realize what a rough looking guy Ralph Kruger was. Yikes.

 

[Rengi]

 

[SI90]

 

[SI90]

 

[Rengi]

Yep, that had to be expected with Leddy goin' down lately.

 

[SI90]

Never want to see anyone hurt and I wish him a healthy recovery but this is good news for the isles that Peel won’t be reffing any games for us this season.