Not surprisingly, the Buffalo Sabres will change up their lineup tonight in Ottawa against the Senators, inserting forwards Zenon Konopka and Ville Leino, healthy scratches the last two games, for Marcus Foligno and Linus Omark.
Foligno, a fourth-liner the last two games, has zero goals in the last six games and just one score in 19 contests.
“He’s a young player,” interim Sabres coach Ted Nolan told reporters today in Ottawa. “He has to learn how to play on a consistent basis. You can’t do it some time. He’s got to learn to do it all the time, and the only way you’re going to try to get a message to him, the only thing we have is ice time.”
What does Nolan want from Leino, who has zero goals in 37 games this season?
“Hopefully, you get a good effort,” he said.
Defenseman Tyler Myers (lower body) will miss his second straight game.
Backup goalie Jhonas Enroth will start the Sabres’ final game before the Olympic break.
Nolan said two or three players will likely be assigned to Rochester following the game.
General manager Tim Murray, meanwhile, told reporters it’s not a matter of “when,” but “if” the Sabres trade franchise goalie Ryan Miller before the March 5 deadline.
“I don’t know if the right deal is going to come along,” Murray said.
He said there has to be certain types of players and prospects involved in a deal like that.
“I just need a team that thinks the same way,” Murray said.
