Boston Bruins (26-12-6, fourth in the East Division) vs. Buffalo Sabres (12-27-7, eighth in the East Division)
Buffalo, New York; Thursday, 7 p.m. EDT
LINE: Sabres +235, Bruins -296; over/under is 0
BOTTOM LINE: Brad Marchand leads Boston into a matchup against Buffalo. He's fifth in the league with 55 points, scoring 24 goals and recording 31 assists.
The Sabres are 12-27-7 against East Division opponents. Buffalo serves 6.3 penalty minutes per game, the fewest in the NHL. Drake Caggiula leads them averaging 2.0.
The Bruins are 26-12-6 against the rest of their division. Boston leads the NHL with eight shorthanded goals, led by Marchand with three.
The teams meet for the second game in a row.
TOP PERFORMERS: Rasmus Asplund leads the Sabres with a plus-six in 18 games this season. Casey Mittelstadt has six goals and two assists over the last 10 games for Buffalo.
Marchand leads the Bruins with 55 points, scoring 24 goals and adding 31 assists. Patrice Bergeron has seven goals over the last 10 games for Boston.
LAST 10 GAMES: Sabres: 5-4-1, averaging 3.1 goals, 4.5 assists, 2.9 penalties and 6.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game with a .921 save percentage.
Bruins: 7-2-1, averaging three goals, 4.8 assists, 4.9 penalties and 11.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game with a .920 save percentage.
INJURIES: Sabres: Carter Hutton: out (lower body), Jake McCabe: out (knee), Will Borgen: out (forearm), Jack Eichel: out for season (neck), Linus Ullmark: out (lower body).
Bruins: Kevan Miller: day to day (undisclosed), Trent Frederic: day to day (illness).
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