After getting punched in the mouth by the Boston Bruins on Sunday afternoon, the Blueshirts will look to right the ship against the Buffalo Sabres. As two of the three teams jockeying for position in the basement of the MassMutual East Division, both New York and Buffalo badly need the two points at stake in tonight’s game.

What started out as a season of hope and optimism in Buffalo has quickly gone off the rails. The Sabres have only won two of their last ten games. They’re currently paying Jeff Skinner $9 million to watch games from the press box, as their star winger has posted a ghastly 0-1-1 stat line in 16 games thus far. The team signed Taylor Hall to an $8 million deal for the season, and he’s found the back of the net once in 19 games. Whispers of Jack Eichel’s frustration are growing louder and louder.

The Rangers have been rumored as a leading contender to land Eichel should the superstar center request a trade out of Buffalo, but the situation isn’t that bad yet. In spite of that, it’s good to keep in mind that Eichel is playing tonight’s contest in what might be his future home arena.

Player to Watch: Filip Chytil

After missing the last 14 games, Chytil is set to return to the lineup tonight. The young center looked like one of New York’s best players in the early portion of the season before being knocked to the sidelines, so look for him to re-establish himself as one of he team’s most effective forwards tonight.

Enjoy the game!