Tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET, the Carolina Hurricanes (26-22-9, 61 points) and Buffalo Sabres (15-34-8, 38 points) faceoff for the second of three meetings against each other this season live from the First Niagara Center in Buffalo. The game can be live streamed here. Carolina fans can hear all of the action on 99.9 The Fan while Buffalo fans can do the same on WGR 550.
These two teams are the first to return to the ice following the 2014 Sochi Olympic break and will be looking to get back to action with a win. Carolina begins a five-game road swing while Buffalo will be home for the next three games. The first time these two teams met, the Hurricanes beat the Sabres 5-3 in Buffalo on Jan. 23.
The Hurricanes will be in search of a positive start to their road trip and the team doesn't believe the team will be rusty after a break that spanned over two weeks long.
"It has been a long break, but we're not that far removed," Carolina captain Eric Staal told the Hurricanes website. "The rust comes off a lot quicker here than a summer break."
Staal leads the team with 45 points off of 14 goals and 31 assists while Jeff Skinner has 23 tallies and 17 helpers for 40 points and Andrej Sekera has lit the lamp nine times while adding 23 assists for 32 points.
The Sabres will be looking to shake off a four-game losing streak that stretches back to before the break and enter play as the worst team in the NHL.
"We believed in ourselves since the first day we got there and even before. Just looking at the paper, I knew that's the best team Latvia probably has had in a long time," Zemgus Girgensons, who played for Sabres interim coach Ted Nolan's Latvia team, said per NHL.com. "I was hoping we can accomplish something good."
Matt Moulson leads the Sabres with 33 points off of 15 goals and 18 assists while Cody Hodgson has 14 markers and 16 helpers for 30 points and Tyler Ennis has found the twine 13 times and added 16 assists for 29 points. Moulson has dealt with a rib injury but is slated to play.
Between the pipes, Buffalo will likely to go with Ryan Miller, who has been the subject of trade rumors and is 14-22-3 with a 2.74 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage while Anton Khudobin will likely suit up for Carolina and is 13-6-0 with a 2.14 GAA and a .927 save percentage.
The Hurricanes and Sabres each look for strong starts coming out of the Olympic break when the puck drops at the First Niagara Center tonight in Buffalo.
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