December 26, 2024

Sabres game day: Offense will try it again against Islanders

GAME DAY #GAMEDAY

Schedule quirks: Monday night’s game marks the first of four meetings in Nassau Coliseum over the next two weeks. The Sabres play a three-game series here March 4, 6 and 7.

Buffalo is 0-3-2 in its last five on the road against the Isles, last posting a 4-3 overtime win on April 9, 2016. Brian Gionta scored the winning goal in a game played at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Sabres haven’t won at the Coliseum since Oct. 15, 2013.

This is the Islanders’ final season in their longtime home. They’re moving next year to UBS Arena, under construction a few miles away next to famed Belmont Park.

Overall, the Sabres are 0-4-1 in their last five games against the Islanders and 2-8-2 in the last 12.

Home cooking: At 4-0-1, the Islanders join Carolina (6-0-1) as the only teams in the NHL without a regulation loss at home. New York is just 4-6-2 on the road, but two of those wins came last week in Buffalo. The Islanders then went to Pittsburgh and scored only three goals while dropping two straight.

The Islanders are looking to take advantage of a very favorable schedule, as they’re opening a stretch of four straight games at home and nine of the next 10.

“The way things are set up this year, the road trips are longer,” Islanders captain Anders Lee said today. “It’s nice to have a little bit of a stand here and get back at home on our ice.”

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