The Buffalo Sabres begin a four-game homestand against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Key Bank Center on Tuesday, looking to break loose offensively after being held to three goals in two losses to the New York Rangers and New York Islanders.
Head coach Don Granato has decided to shake up his forward lines slightly, inserting Tyson Jost, promoting Peyton Krebs to the second line, and sitting winger Victor Olofsson. Jost will be centering the fourth line between Kyle Okposo and Zemgus Girgensons, while Krebs shifts to the wing on the second line with Dylan Cozens and J-J Peterka.
"I think the Cozens line hasn't been in sync yet.....I think Krebs played really well (against the Islanders). Granato said. "It is very important to get Tyson in the lineup. He means a lot to the guys in the locker room and he does a lot. He's a very good role model for our young players. He's walked the walk very recently to get a few hundred games in the NHL, but he's still very young and very in tune with being young. I think he's helped J-J Peterka. He's helped all our guys that are younger than him, especially his path going from Colorado to Minnesota to here. It's just a different perspective that he's shared with the guys."
Olofsson was at the center of a great deal of trade speculation during the offseason in spite of scoring a career-high 28 goals last season, due mostly to his being a healthy scratch down the stretch when the Sabres were still in the race for a playoff spot. The injury to Jack Quinn in late June quieted that speculation, as well as the difficulty of moving the winger’s $4.75 million cap hit, but they may pop up again if Olofsson’s status out of the lineup becomes more frequent.
Devon Levi will be making his third start of the season for Buffalo, and former Sabre Jonas Johansson is expected to be between the pipes for Tampa.
Per Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper, forward Steven Stamkos will not play due to a lower-body injury.