The Buffalo Sabres are back and other talking points on a busy NHL Monday
It is a busy Monday in the NHL and the return of the Buffalo Sabres is probably the headline act.
We have a feast of 10 games in the National Hockey League tonight, starting with the St. Louis Blues taking on the Arizona Coyotes once again at 4:00 p.m. ET. However, the biggest talking point of the night will be the long-awaited return of the Buffalo Sabres, who haven’t played since Jan. 31 due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
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Other storylines will be the potential return of superstar forward Steven Stamkos for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Patrick Kane looking to haunt the dreams of the Detroit Red Wings once again, the Dallas Stars trying to break out of their current slump, a couple of intriguing North Division showdowns and some serious star power to look out for throughout the night.
However, we are going to start things off by focussing on the Buffalo Sabres who will finally be back out on the ice tonight, hosting the New York Islanders in what is another big game in an ultra-competitive East Division. The Sabres have some catching up to do and they will look to mark their return with what would be a big win over an Islanders team who picked up a significant win over the weekend. So, without further ado, let’s delve right into tonight’s games!
Buffalo Sabres back in action and other talking points on an NHL Monday
Buffalo Sabres back in the New York Groove
Okay, so the Buffalo Sabres reside in Upstate New York and they are playing the New York Islanders, so referencing that famous song from Kiss seems only right. It is a huge night for the Sabres who haven’t been able to play an NHL game since Jan. 31 because of a COVID-19 outbreak, but they will finally be allowed back into their natural habitat tonight after having six games postponed.
It was a shaky start to the 2020-21 season for the Sabres prior to getting shut down, sitting 4-4-2 on the year, and they will be hoping to record what would be a big win over the Islanders tonight in order to start moving away from the bottom of the East Division and making up for lost time. The good news for the Buffalo Sabres is that Head Coach Ralph Krueger will be back behind the bench after recovering from COVID-19 and, while the likes of forward Dylan Cozens and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen remain on the NHL’s COVID-19 Protocol list, they will have key players in the ilk of Jack Eichel and Taylor Hall on the ice, although the bad news is that the Islanders beat the Boston Bruins 4-2 on Saturday and they will be looking to take advantage of any signs of rust that their opponent may show tonight.
Patrick Kane ultimate nightmare for Detroit
The Detroit Red Wings don’t enjoy facing Patrick Kane. That is obvious. After all, Kane has one goal and three assists for four points in two games against the Red Wings for the Chicago Blackhawks this season, while he has also averaged nearly a point per game in his career against Detroit, scoring 48 points (16 G, 32 A) in 51 games. Yeah, that is pretty good.
So, it goes without saying that the Red Wings will not look forward to facing Kane tonight, especially considering that they are 4-10-2 on the year and are bottom of the Central Division. On the flip side, Kane leads the 7-5-4 Blackhawks in points this season with 22 (7 G, 15 A), and the Hawks have also been red hot on the power play this season with 17 goals, compared to Detroit who rank 27th in the NHL on the penalty kill this year (71.7 percent). Basically, expect Patrick Kane to record at least a couple of points tonight.
Steven Stamkos is back
We will hopefully get to see one of the most exciting players in the National Hockey League tonight. Yes, Steven Stamkos is expected to be back for the Tampa Bay Lightning when they play the Florida Panthers tonight (7 p.m. ET), with the Captain having left the NHL’s COVID-19 Protocol list.
Stamkos, who was also listed with a lower-body injury prior to entering the Protocol, has been stellar for Tampa Bay in 2020-21 with 14 points (7 G, 7 A) in 11 games, playing a huge role in the Lightning getting off to a 10-2-1 start. And, after splitting their first two games with the Panthers over the last few days without Stamkos, losing 5-2 on Feb. 11 before winning 6-1 on Saturday, the Tampa Bay Lightning will be thrilled to get one of their most potent weapons back for tonight’s game.
Let’s not forget the Florida Panthers though, who have been a feel-good story in their own right and they have arguably been one of the biggest surprise stories in the NHL so far in 2020-21. Their 6-1 loss to the Lightning on Saturday aside, the Panthers have been outstanding so far this year and they currently sit second in the Central Division with a 8-2-2 record, with a lot of their success down to the high-level play of Carter Verhaeghe who has 10 points (7 G, 3 A) in 12 games after signing for Florida in the offseason following his exit from the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Can the Dallas Stars stop the slide?
It was such a promising start to the 2020-21 season for the Dallas Stars who didn’t seem to be impacted by having their start delayed due to a COVID-19 outbreak, instead winning their first four games. However, they are now 0-2-3 in their last five outings and, perhaps more worrying, is the fact that they seem to find different ways to lose games every single night.
The one piece of good news for the Stars is the fact that they will go up against the Nashville Predators tonight, a team they hold a 2-0-0 record against so far in 2020-21. So, can they improve to 3-0-0 and claim their first win since Feb. 2? They will hope so given that they are starting to lose ground in the Central Division, and they have the ideal opportunity to pick up a huge W given that the Predators have struggled all season, posting a 6-9-0 record and, once again, punching well below their weight.
Ducks getting it done on the PK
The rebuilding Anaheim Ducks are nice surprise story this season given that they currently sit fourth in the West Division behind the three heavyweights in the Vegas Golden Knights, the St. Louis Blues and the Colorado Avalanche, and a lot of their early success is down to their stellar play on special teams.
More specifically, their elite play on the penalty kill where they are ranked third in the National Hockey League, killing power plays at an impressive clip of 87.2 percent. Heading into tonight’s game against the 5-7-1 San Jose Sharks, the Anaheim Ducks have not allowed a single power play goal in their last five games, going 8-for-8 and that’s how you kill penalties.
North Division Thrills
We’re a month into the 2020-21 NHL season and the North Division – or the all-Canadian Division – has quickly established itself as the most entertaining division in the entire National Hockey League. That should continue to be the case tonight with a total of three games on tap, starting with the Ottawa Senators at the Toronto Maple Leafs where Auston Matthews will look to extend his nine-game point streak (9 G, 3 A, 12 P), and he could join the dynamic Edmonton Oilers duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl as the only players to have double-digit point streaks in the NHL this season.
Speaking of the Edmonton Oilers, they faceoff against the Winnipeg Jets at 9 p.m. ET, a matchup that has already combined for 17 goals in just two games this season, so expect fireworks between those two teams with the Jets center Mark Scheifele riding a six-game point streak (3 G, 5 A), while Connor McDavid leads the entire NHL in points with 28 points (9 G, 19 A) in just 16 games with Leon Draisaitl just behind him with 8 goals and 18 assists for 26 points.
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Then, finally, the Calgary Flames will take on the Vancouver Canucks in what is another huge game for these two strugglers in the North Division. The Canucks snapped a six-game losing streak on Saturday by beating the Flames 3-1, but they are still 7-11-0 on the year and, despite their Owner’s claims, big changes could be on the way soon if they can’t begin to turn things around and soon. For Calgary, they are 7-6-1 on the year and are 5-5-0 in their last 10 outings after losing to the Canucks, and they also need to start showing some consistency if they are to keep pace with the rest of the division, so expect a real hard-edged and hugely competitive showdown tonight in what is the final game of a three-game set.