Season series: Senators lead 1-0-0
Last game: Sabres 3, Senators 4
The breakdown:
The Senators are off to a great start, and they can thank sound defensive play and their Vezina candidate goaltender Craig Anderson, who's sporting a 6-2-2 record to go along with a stellar .950 save percentage and 1.49 goals against average, with a nice shutout to show for that. Their rookie, Mika Zibenijad will be getting time with the first line for this one. They're hoping that move helps them kick-start the scoring after being blanked by Al Montoya and the Winnipeg Jets this past Saturday afternoon. The Sens are going on 3-days rest, so they've got the rest factor going for them.
As for the Sabres, they're not exactly spring chickens right now. Thomas Vanek was held pointless in 2 of his past 3 games, including one against the Senators last Tuesday, so perhaps the Austrian Camel is cooling off. Ryan Miller was stellar this past weekend, saving 77 of the 81 shots he faced against the Islanders and Bruins combined. I don't see why he won't be getting the start for the Sabres tonight. The Sabres are actually a pretty potent scoring team, and some secondary scorers may be starting to come alive. Tyler Ennis has points in 3 of his last 4, including a 3 point outing against the Montreal Canadiens. Drew Stafford has missed 100% of the shots he's taken (36). He's bound to hit the net eventually. I hope. Tyler Myers may be back. I don't have a report on that or anything. Just think of that as an educated guess.
It's a 7:30 start for this one, ladies and gents. Go Sabres!
(This is my first ever game-day thread. If you have any complaints, feel free to do it here. Or on Twitter. That's always fun, too.)
