Sabres Slashes: Weekly Preview 12/24/17-12/30/17

The Buffalo Sabres will look to close out their year by getting back on track with some wins and points.

It won't be an easy task for the Sabres, who will be on the road while facing two Metropolitan Division opponents. The Sabres will take on the New York Islanders tonight, while facing a much improved New Jersey Devils team on Friday night. Buffalo needs to not look past these two opponents to the Winter Classic on Monday, January 1.

The Sabres will need to somehow stop the top six forwards of the Islanders since they have been their main point producers. Buffalo will need to be disciplined and stay out of the penalty box since the Isles power play is ranked in the top five of the NHL. The Sabres will need to force turnovers and have a good effort from start to finish, which includes getting in on the forecheck and winning board battles. Buffalo will need to limit their mistakes with and without the puck. The Sabres also need to get off to a fast start and play with some energy. Buffalo will need to get their road power play going since the Islanders home penalty kill is only operating at 76%.

The Islanders will need to force turnovers by getting in on the forecheck and playing a smart game in the neutral zone. New York will need to take advantage of when they are on the power play since the Sabres road penalty kill is only killing off 75% of the penalties taken. The Isles need to play their style of hockey and not play down to the level of their opponents. The Islanders will need to keep their foot on the gas pedal the whole game and not show a lack of effort at times. New York will need to have the lead entering the third and final period since the Sabres have only one regulation win when trailing after two periods.

On Friday night, the Sabres will take on the New Jersey Devils in their final game before the Winter Classic. Buffalo will need to get traffic in front of the net and get some second chances opportunities. The Sabres will need to stay out of the penalty box since the Devils have the tenth best power play in the League. Buffalo need to be better at even strength since the Devils have outscored opponents by five goals this year while playing 5-on-5 hockey. The Sabres will need the goaltender to step up and make some saves, and not allow any soft goals. Buffalo will need to play a solid, defensive road game in order to stop the balanced attack of the Devils.

The Devils will need to win the special teams battle since they are ranked in he top 10 in the League in both the power play and penalty kill. New Jersey will need to force turnovers and take advantage of the mistakes that the Sabres are going to make. The Devils will need to get off to a fast start and get the first goal of the game. New Jersey will need to find a way to keep Evander Kane and Jack Eichel, the top two point producers on the Sabres, off the board when they are on the ice. The Devils are going to need to be aware of Kane when he is out on the ice killing penalties since he has a few shorthanded goals already this year.

Lightning Strikes: Weekly Preview 11/12/17-11/18/17

The Tampa Bay Lightning will look to continue their hot start to the season. They will finished their West Coast swing and then come home for two games.

The Bolts will finish up their West Coast swing when they face the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night. They will then have three days off before facing the Dallas Stars on Thursday night. The Lightning finish off the week with a game at home against the New York Islanders.

Tampa Bay will face an Anaheim lineup that has been depleted by injury in the early season. The Bolts will need to get the first goal of the game to take the home crowd out of the game. The Lightning will need to stop the top six forwards of the Ducks since they do most of the damage on the offensive side of the puck for the team. Tampa Bay will need to get pucks on net with traffic in front. The Bolts will need to have a strong even strength game since the Ducks have a decent penalty kill. The Lightning will need to make quick decisions with the puck since the Ducks do block a lot of shot attempts.

The Ducks are going to need to stop the top line of the Lightning, who have combined for 77 points through 17 games so far this year. Anaheim is going to need to get some traffic in front of Tampa Bay's net to get some dirty goals on rebounds and second chances. The Ducks will need to be physical and establish a forecheck early in the game to spend some much needed attack time in the offensive zone. Anaheim needs to make sure that they have the lead after two periods since they don't have a regulation loss if they have the lead entering the third period. The Ducks will need to be aware of the Lightning defense joining the play in the offensive zone, which they have been know to do.

The Lightning have three days off before facing the Dallas Stars at home. The Bolts will need to figure out a way to keep Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin off the board since they have decent career numbers against the Lightning. Tampa Bay will need to play solid defense since the Stars can score and in bunches. The Lightning need to get the first goal of the game since the Stars play better with the lead as opposed to when they are trailing. The Lightning will also need to stay out of the penalty box since the Stars have the best power play in the League at 31.3%.

The Stars are going to need to get the first goal of the game to take the home crowd out of the game. Dallas will need to make sure that it plays a good even strength game, but also need to play stellar special teams like they have all season. The Stars are going to need to have the lead entering the third period since they don't have a third period comeback yet this year. Dallas will need to take advantage of a weak home penalty kill by the Lightning. The Stars need to figure out a way to stop the balanced attack of Tampa Bay.

The Lightning will take on the New York Islanders on Saturday night to end their week. Tampa Bay will need to get some traffic in front of the net because Jaroslav Halak has been very good this year. The Bolts will need to get the first goal of the game since the Isles are 5-0-0 when they get the first goal of the game, and 4-6-2 when the opposition scores first. Tampa Bay will need to be sure that they play a strong even strength game since the Isles are a good team when playing 5-on-5 hockey. The Lightning need to be area of when John Tavares is on the ice since he leads the team in points with 19.

The Isles need to get the first goal of the game since they are 5-0-0 when scoring the first goal of the game. New York needs to get off to a fast start and establish the cycle and forecheck game early to spend some time in the offensive zone. The Islanders need to stop the balanced attack of the Bolts. New York will need to find a way to slow down Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, who have gotten off to hot starts this season.

Shooting Stars: Weekly Preview 11/5/17-11/11/17

The Dallas Stars only play two games this week, but one of them will be a revenge game against Central Division opponent, Winnipeg Jets.


The Stars will have a chance to pick up four points on home ice this week, where they are 5-1-0 on the season. The Jets will visit the Stars tonight, and then on Friday night, the New York Islanders will come into town.

The Stars are looking to get revenge on the Jets after they losing to them in Winnipeg last week by a score of 5-2. Dallas will need to get the first goal of the game since they are 6-3-0 when doing so. The Stars will need to play a better game at even strength since their special teams will keep them in almost every game. Dallas needs to get off to a fast start and get the first goal of the game. Dallas also needs to figure out a way to stop Mark Schiefele, who had a hat trick last game, and Blake Wheeler, who leads the Jets in points. Dallas also needs to take advantage of the weak penalty kill of the Jets.

The Jets need to get the first goal of the game to take the home crowd out of the game. Winnipeg needs to stay out of the penalty box since the Stars have the best power play in the League. Winnipeg needs to bring a balanced lineup, and not just rely on one line for all the offense. The Jets are going to need to find a way to keep the top six of the Stars off the board or at least in check. Winnipeg will need to have a better second period since they have been outscored 16-7 in the middle frame.

On Friday night, the New York Islanders and John Tavares visit the Stars. The Stars will need to figure out a way to keep John Tavares and Josh Bailey in-check since they are co-leaders in points on the Islanders. The Stars will need to have the goalie have a big game and make some saves since the Isles will get their chances. Dallas needs to play a lot better at even strength and eliminate the turnovers, which the Islanders can capitalize on. The Stars need to stay out of the penalty box since the Islanders have the eighth best power play in the League at 22.4%.

The Isles will need to find a way to keep Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov off the board. The line has combined for 41 points already this year. New York will need to get the first goal of the game since they are 4-0-0 when getting the first goal of the game. The Isles will need to stay out of the penalty box, and be better on special teams since Dallas ranked in the top five in both the power play and penalty kill rankings. New York will need to get off to a better start, and get some pucks on net to test the Stars goalie.