Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – The Sabres will try to make it four wins in-a-row on Tuesday night as they host the Columbus Blue Jackets in Downtown Buffalo.
Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin didn’t take part in the morning skate and is still listed as day-to-day.
Buffalo won’t have its newest acquisition available, as defenseman Riley Stillman is dealing with immigration issues.
"When I watch him, I see that he wants to play more aggressive. He has that in him, so there’s a lot of intriguing things," said Sabres head coach Don Granato of his new defenseman. "But in fairness to him, we play an aggressive style, and it’s going to take him a little bit to adjust to that. But he has it in him to play the style we want."
Vinnie Hinostroza returned from Rochester on Sunday and scored a goal and an assist. He got caught in a numbers game and had to be sent down, but it still didn’t make it an easier on him.
“I owe a lot to my wife. She’s been my rock through all this, and she’s always there at the end of the day," said Hinostroza after the morning skate. "It’s easier when you have that home base where you can step away from the game and take your mind off.”
Hinostroza wasn’t playing games in Buffalo, so when he got to Rochester, he needed to work on that.
“It was a bit of an adjustment," Hinostroza admitted. "Before that, I think I had played three games in 60 days, and then go down there and I was playing 20 minutes a night. So after a couple of games down there, I started really feeling better and getting more into game shape, and felt like myself and just continued to progress and focus on the details to help my game.”
Craig Anderson will be in goal on Tuesday night. He’s 9-7-2 this season with a 2.70 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage. Anderson, like his teammates, struggled in his first game out of the break, giving up five goals on the road against Los Angeles Kings, but he played extremely well in the three games around that game.
The veteran had a 49 save performance in a 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers on Friday, and stopped 17-of-18 pucks in 46:29 against the Toronto Maple Leafs last Tuesday.
Anderson was also stellar in Dallas, beating the Stars back on Jan. 23 in overtime, making 29 saves on 31 shots.
With Alex Tuch out, Jack Quinn took his place on Sunday with Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner. Quinn had two assists, and now has two goals and two assists for four points in his last four games. He has six points in six games.
Thompson has points in six-straight games, scoring five goals and five assists for 10 points. Thompson is fifth in league scoring with 79 points in 58 games. His 40 goals are third in the league.
Jeff Skinner is also red-hot with a six-game point streak. He has five goals and four assists for nine points.
The Sabres are now 15th overall in the NHL with a points percentage of .569. That points percentage puts them seventh in the Eastern Conference. If you go by points, Buffalo’s in ninth, one point behind the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Columbus is at the bottom of the NHL standings with a points percentage of .367.
Earlier this season, Buffalo went to Columbus and walloped the Blue Jackets, 9-4. Thompson had four of the Sabres' six goals in the first period. He went on to finish the game with five goals and six points.
The Blue Jackets have actually been a little better lately, going 4-2-2 in their last right games. In that stretch, they have wins over Dallas, Toronto, the Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers.
Johnny Gaudreau leads Columbus with 15 goals and 39 assists for 54 points in 58 games.
Tuesday's game is a radio only broadcast with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray on the call. It will be streamed on ESPN+ and Hulu starting at 7:30 p.m. EST.
Join Brian Koziol for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6:30 p.m. EST when you’ll hear from Granato, Hinostroza and Quinn.
