Edmonton Oilers (8-12-2) @

Buffalo Sabres (5-13-4)

Key Bank Arena, Buffalo NY

5 PM MDT

TV: Sportsnet East, Sportsnet West, Sportsnet Oilers

Radio: 630 CHED on

SB Nation Opponent: Die By The Blade

BREAKDOWN

Six different Oilers scored en route to a 6-2 victory in Detroit giving Edmonton two points they desperately needed. After two games that saw the Oilers outscored by a 14-6 margin, getting two points on the road was a fairly large size step in salvaging a road trip that’s got two more stops after tonight.

The Oilers are in Buffalo to take on a struggling Sabres squad with just five wins in 22 games. If the Oilers are to start putting their season back together, this is the kind of team they’ll need to defeat. Can the Oilers make it two in a row?

Let’s go to the tape.

The Oilers are saying

"Everybody came to play tonight...All four lines showed up on the scoresheet, I don't think we gave up a lot. It was more like ourselves. There was a lot to prove tonight. St. Louis wasn't the game that any of us wanted to put out there. I think this was the response we needed"

Source

That’s Oilers centre Mark Letestu on getting points from all four lines. Letestu scored a goal on Wednesday night, which was his 500th game of his career.

When you get scoring from all four of your lines, you make a compelling argument for a W. Oilers got a goal from Jujhar Khaira, another from Jesse Puljujarvi. Darnell Nurse had one from just over the blue line. Everything works out when you score six.

The Sabres are saying:

"At the end of the day you can sit here and talk about it but you've got to go out there and you've got to show up and you've got to be ready for that...I think there's one part of that being physically ready to play, which at times can be easier than being mentally ready. "

Source

That’s Sabres forward Sam Reinhart on the Sabres struggle through the first quarter of the 2017-18 season.

New GM, new coach, and a defence with several injuries to starters. Add the NHL’s worst goals per game total, and you’ve got this year’s incarnation of the Buffalo Sabres so far.

Have some of this

• If it’s Drake Caggiula on the top line with Connor McDavid, I think that’s just great. Makes me wonder who else can keep up with 97 on the top line, and if the Oilers can use inexpensive forwards effectively on McDavid’s right side down the road.
• I’ve rode how bad the Oilers’ PK is (it’s still 29th in the league / 73.3%), but the Sabres are equally anemic on the PP (81.8%, 30th in the league. Could be a long night.
• Jujhar Khaira has four points in his last five games.
• NET GAINS: Cam Talbot (8-10-1, .901 SV% / 3.13 GAA) will likely go for the Oilers tonight, while Robin Lehner (4-9-1, .902SV% / 3.08 GAA) is likely for the Sabres.
• The Oilers will be missing defenceman Andrej Sekera (out til December/January) as he recovers from ACL surgery. Anton Slepyshev is likely out with a groin injury. The Sabres will be missing Rasmus Ristolainen (upper body), Zach Bogosian (lower body), Mat Tennyson (foot) and Taylor Fedun (lower body).