Re: NHL Betting Info. 3/1
Preview: Edmonton at Buffalo
When: 7:30 PM ET, Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Where: First Niagara Center, Buffalo, New York
The top two picks in last year’s NHL draft will square off as professionals for the first time when Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers visit Jack Eichel and the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night. McDavid and Eichel have not opposed one another since they competed in the World Juniors in 2014, when they played for Team Canada and Team USA, respectively.
No. 2 pick Eichel is more preoccupied with his own play than the matchup with McDavid after Buffalo was blanked twice on its just-concluded three-game road trip. “For myself, no production in these three games,” Eichel said. “I need to be a lot better and I need to step up.” Likewise, top overall pick McDavid downplayed any significance of facing his rookie counterpart. “For me personally, it’s not really too much of a big deal,” McDavid said. “We got drafted together sure, but other than that we don’t really share that much in common.”
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Sportsnet West (Edmonton), MSG (Buffalo)
ABOUT THE OILERS (23-34-7): Edmonton absorbed a costly blow when forward Benoit Pouliot, who had matched his career high with 36 points, suffered a potential season-ending shoulder injury in Sunday’s 3-1 win over the New York Islanders that snapped a seven-game losing streak. “Shoulder injury, not day-to-day, and he’s got to see some doctors and have some tests to figure out what long-term really is,” coach Todd McLellan said. “He won’t play for a little while for sure.” The Oilers added a big body at the trade deadline Monday, acquiring forward Patrick Maroon from Anaheim.
ABOUT THE SABRES (25-31-7): Buffalo lost one of its top offensive players at the trade deadline when forward Jamie McGinn was shipped to Anaheim in exchange for a conditional third-round draft pick that could wind up a second-rounder. “We have a ton of picks, a ton of picks that don’t have to be used on draft day, which I’ve said since I’ve got here,” Sabres general manager Tim Murray said. “I think we have a lot of options again going forward in the next two drafts.” Eichel scored a goal in a 4-2 loss at Edmonton on Dec. 6 – a game in which McDavid was sidelined by an injury.
OVERTIME
1. Eichel is mired in a six-game goalless drought and is a minus-15, the worst mark in the league for a rookie.
2. Oilers leading scorer Taylor Hall has three goals in five career games versus Buffalo.
3. The Sabres are laboring on the power play, converting 3-of-28 over the past eight games.
PREDICTION: Oilers 3, Sabres 2
Preview: Edmonton at Buffalo
When: 7:30 PM ET, Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Where: First Niagara Center, Buffalo, New York
The top two picks in last year’s NHL draft will square off as professionals for the first time when Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers visit Jack Eichel and the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night. McDavid and Eichel have not opposed one another since they competed in the World Juniors in 2014, when they played for Team Canada and Team USA, respectively.
No. 2 pick Eichel is more preoccupied with his own play than the matchup with McDavid after Buffalo was blanked twice on its just-concluded three-game road trip. “For myself, no production in these three games,” Eichel said. “I need to be a lot better and I need to step up.” Likewise, top overall pick McDavid downplayed any significance of facing his rookie counterpart. “For me personally, it’s not really too much of a big deal,” McDavid said. “We got drafted together sure, but other than that we don’t really share that much in common.”
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Sportsnet West (Edmonton), MSG (Buffalo)
ABOUT THE OILERS (23-34-7): Edmonton absorbed a costly blow when forward Benoit Pouliot, who had matched his career high with 36 points, suffered a potential season-ending shoulder injury in Sunday’s 3-1 win over the New York Islanders that snapped a seven-game losing streak. “Shoulder injury, not day-to-day, and he’s got to see some doctors and have some tests to figure out what long-term really is,” coach Todd McLellan said. “He won’t play for a little while for sure.” The Oilers added a big body at the trade deadline Monday, acquiring forward Patrick Maroon from Anaheim.
ABOUT THE SABRES (25-31-7): Buffalo lost one of its top offensive players at the trade deadline when forward Jamie McGinn was shipped to Anaheim in exchange for a conditional third-round draft pick that could wind up a second-rounder. “We have a ton of picks, a ton of picks that don’t have to be used on draft day, which I’ve said since I’ve got here,” Sabres general manager Tim Murray said. “I think we have a lot of options again going forward in the next two drafts.” Eichel scored a goal in a 4-2 loss at Edmonton on Dec. 6 – a game in which McDavid was sidelined by an injury.
OVERTIME
1. Eichel is mired in a six-game goalless drought and is a minus-15, the worst mark in the league for a rookie.
2. Oilers leading scorer Taylor Hall has three goals in five career games versus Buffalo.
3. The Sabres are laboring on the power play, converting 3-of-28 over the past eight games.
PREDICTION: Oilers 3, Sabres 2
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