The Western tie-breaker to round out the west coast trip stretch.
By Kerra Mazzariello / Diebytheblade.com
What to Watch
1. Carter “Hot”-on
Thursday night’s visit to L.A.’s arena was another record-breaking game for the Sabres in this young season. Carter Hutton made an impressive 47 saves and shut out the Kings, making it his second shutout not only of the season, but of this week. Hutton is projected to start in the net tonight and if he does, it will be interesting to see how he does against the Sharks’ top goal-scorers.
2. San Jose Hot Streak
The Sharks began the season with four straight losses, but the momentum changed when they faced the Chicago Blackhawks and have since won three in a row. Former Sabre Evander Kane tallied a first period hat trick in their match-up against the Hurricanes this past Wednesday, so he will be one to watch closely tonight.
3. Shoot the Biscuit
One of the struggles early this season for the Sabres has been producing shots on goal. This may be surprising with their impressive start, but the Sabres are ranked 17th among the league in shots. And, though Thursday’s game was a win, it was not a pleasant one with a total of only 24 shots to the Kings’ 47. Additionally, having returned to the ice against the Kings following an upper body injury, Conor Sheary is back to making an early impact. Casey Mittelstadt finally broke his scoring silence, too, with his three points on Thursday. Buffalo will need to shift their focus to shooting more and creating more scoring opportunities and this third line is a hot one at the moment.