SABRES (7-8-0) at PANTHERS (6-6-3)
TV: MSG-B, BELL TV, FS-F
Season Series: Forward Jaromir Jagr scored twice, and Aleksander Barkov had a goal and an assist to help the Florida Panthers to a 3-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 15 at BBT Center. Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo made 24 saves to win his seventh straight game against the Sabres. Tyler Ennis and Jake McCabe scored for the Sabres.
Sabres team scope: A win Thursday will put Buffalo at .500 for the first time since the final game of the 2013 season (21-21-6). The Sabres have won four of five for the first time since Dec. 2014. "There's pretty big signficance in it," coach Dan Bylsma told the Sabres website. "I don't want to talk about big games in November, but it is a big opportunity for us to get a win on the road and get back to .500." Defenseman Mike Weber (lower body) returned to Buffalo for further evaluation. "At this point in time, we're investigating it being a little bit longer than day-to-day but we'll wait to see on that," Byslma said. There are no plans to call up a defenseman for Thursday because Bylsma can use forward Nicolas Deslauriers at the position in a pinch. "We're fine with the six we have now," Bylsma said.
Panthers team scope: Barkov is excepted to skate Thursday after missing the past three weeks with a broken hand. "Not to get too far ahead, but everything is on schedule," coach Gerard Gallant told the Miami Herald. "They said 3-4 weeks and it will be three weeks [Thursday]. It will be day-to-day after that. I can't say he'll play this weekend of next weekend, but things are looking good." Barkov is likely to resume centering Florida's top line of Jagr and Jonathan Huberdeau, which would move Vincent Trocheck from second-line center back to wing. The Panthers 4-3 win Tuesday against the Calgary Flames ended a five-game losing streak and was the first game in a stretch that includes seven of eight games at home. "It's a huge homestand," Luongo told the Associated Press. "We've got some tough tests ahead of us and we're going to need to be playing better hockey if we want to win." Florida is 8-0-1 in its past nine against Buffalo, including four consecutive victories on home ice.
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