Buffalo Sabres (16-28-8, seventh in the Atlantic) vs. St. Louis Blues (30-14-6, second in the Central)
St. Louis; Friday, 8 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Buffalo enters the matchup against St. Louis as losers of four games in a row.
The Blues have gone 18-6-2 in home games. St. Louis has scored 177 goals and ranks fifth in the NHL averaging 3.5 per game. Vladimir Tarasenko leads the team with 19.
The Sabres are 8-14-4 in road games. Buffalo is 22nd in the Eastern Conference with 29.4 shots per game and is averaging 2.6 goals.
The matchup Friday is the first meeting this season for the two teams.
TOP PERFORMERS: Tarasenko leads the Blues with 19 goals, adding 27 assists and totaling 46 points. Brayden Schenn has seven goals and four assists over the last 10 games for St. Louis.
Tage Thompson leads the Sabres with 38 points, scoring 20 goals and adding 18 assists. Alex Tuch has four goals and seven assists over the last 10 games for Buffalo.
LAST 10 GAMES: Blues: 6-3-1, averaging 3.6 goals, 6.2 assists, 3.9 penalties and 7.8 penalty minutes while giving up 2.7 goals per game with a .908 save percentage.
Sabres: 3-6-1, averaging 2.7 goals, 4.3 assists, 3.2 penalties and 8.9 penalty minutes while allowing 3.4 goals per game with an .895 save percentage.
INJURIES: Blues: Marco Scandella: out (lower-body).
Sabres: Zemgus Girgensons: out (undisclosed), Jack Quinn: out (lower body).
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