The Buffalo Sabres will visit the Dallas Stars on Saturday night at American Airlines Center, with Alex Lyon expected to make a second straight start in net for Buffalo. The game is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST, and it comes after both teams took difficult losses on Thursday.
Goalie reset for Buffalo
Lyon returned from injury on Thursday and stopped 22 of 25 shots in Buffalo's 3-2 overtime loss in Chicago. That outing followed Wednesday's 8-3 loss to Tampa Bay, leaving the Sabres at 8-7-4 and still searching for a better balance between offensive pressure and defensive responsibility.
Lindy Ruff said there was "a lot of good on the defensive side of it," while also noting that Buffalo missed chances to take advantage of its offensive-zone time. He added that if the team plays defense like that, it gives itself a chance to win every night.
Stars dealing with an injury absence
Dallas will be without Miro Heiskanen because of an upper-body injury, a notable loss for a club that has still been one of the NHL's stronger defensive teams. The Stars have allowed the second-fewest shots per game and the second-fewest high-danger chances per game in the league, even if they have not scored a ton.
The Stars also enter the matchup coming off a rough Thursday, when Jake Oettinger was pulled after allowing six goals on 27 shots in Dallas's 8-3 home loss to Winnipeg. That came about a month after Oettinger had a 26-save shutout against Buffalo, so Saturday's game offers a quick rematch with a different tone.
Buffalo and Dallas are both looking to steady themselves after recent setbacks, and the matchup sets up as a chance for the Sabres to test their offense against a disciplined defensive group while also seeing how the Stars respond without Heiskanen on the back end.
