Islanders vs Sabres: Back at the Coliseum, Odds, Lineups, and More

The New York Islanders are finally back on home ice, after being on the road for five-straight, when they take on the Buffalo Sabres tonight at the Nassau Coliseum.

If you are interested in tuning in to tonight’s game, note that this game is a bit earlier than usual for midweek regular season games. Opening faceoff at the Coliseum is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. eastern time, not 7:00.

Tonight’s game begins a two-game series between the Islanders and Sabres, and a three-game homestand for the blue and orange. The Islanders Sabres series will conclude on Thursday night and the Isles will finish their set of games at the Coliseum against the Penguins on Saturday night.

New York Islanders look to end their five-game losing streak vs. Buffalo Sabres

The Islanders come into tonight after losing their last five games during their road trip, with the most recent two coming against the Flyers in overtime.

The blue and orange will be happy to back on Long Island, where they have a 2-0-0 record compared to their 1-4-2 record away from home this year.

While the Islanders have been on the road, the Sabres have been home their last four games. They played the Rangers and Devils twice, posting a 2-1-1 record. In their most recent contest, Buffalo lost 5-3 to New Jersey on Sunday.

Tale of the Tape

Odds

The Islanders come into today as the favorites, courtesy of the Action network.

As we noted, although it’s a small sample size, the Islanders have performed well at home. They will be looking to get back to their winning form against Buffalo, who just landed on Long Island this morning after yesterday’s snowstorm.

It will be interesting to keep an eye on if the late flight has any effect on the Sabres skating and how much gas they have in the tank.

Projected Lineups

Although the Islanders had the day off yesterday, they did make a couple of roster moves. Both Dmytro Timashov and Austin Czarnik were sent down to the taxi squad and Leo Komarov was called back up.

The Islanders still have all of today to make more roster moves before they drop the puck against Buffalo.

Dmytro Timashov is projected to be replaced for tonight’s game after not seeing any ice time in the third period of Sunday’s game. It looks like either Kieffer Bellows or Komarov will replace Timashov on the second line.

The Islanders have yet to make any changes to their defense and it looks like it will stay the same today.

Semyon Varlamov is projected to start in goal after Ilya Sorokin got the start on Sunday night in Philadelphia.

The Islanders are projected to lineup like this:

Lee-Barzal-Bailey
Bellows-Nelson-Bailey
Dal Colle-Pageau-Czarnik
Martin-Cizikas-Clutterbuck

Pelech-Pulock
Leddy-Mayfield
Dobson-Greene

Varlamov (Sorokin)

The Sabres are only projected to make one lineup change from their game on Sunday. It is projected that Henri Jokiharju comes in for Colin Miller on defense. Other than that, there are no more expected changes for Buffalo.

Sam Reinhart who has been injured is currently traveling with Buffalo, so there is a chance he could feature tonight. It is more than likely he will miss out tonight, but play on Thursday when these sides meet again.

Buffalo is projected to name Carter Hutton as their starter against the Isles. Hutton made 32 saves on 36 shots faced in Sunday’s loss against the Devils.

The Sabres are projected to lineup like this:

Mittelstadt-Eichel-Olofsson
Hall-Staal-Cozens
Rieder-Eakin-Okposo
Skinner-Lazar-Shehan

McCabe-Ristolainen
Dahlin-Montour
Miller-Jokiharju

Hutton (Ullmark)

Where to Catch the Game

TV: NBCSN

Radio: 88.7FM 103.9FM 1050AM

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Isles Country: Will the Islanders end their losing streak tonight against the Sabres? Leave your comments and predictions below!

*All Stats Provided by the NHL*