Boston faces Buffalo, looks for 7th straight victory

Boston Bruins (27-12-6, fourth in the East Division) vs. Buffalo Sabres (12-28-7, eighth in the East Division)

Buffalo, New York; Friday, 7 p.m. EDT

LINE: Sabres +255, Bruins -319; over/under is 5.5

BOTTOM LINE: Boston aims to keep its six-game win streak alive when the Bruins take on Buffalo.

The Sabres are 12-28-7 against division opponents. Buffalo serves 6.3 penalty minutes per game, the fewest in the league. Drake Caggiula leads them averaging 1.0.

The Bruins are 27-12-6 against East Division opponents. Boston serves 10.3 penalty minutes per game, the most in the NHL. Trent Frederic leads the team serving 55 total minutes.

The teams square off for the second game in a row.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jack Eichel leads the Sabres with 16 assists and has 18 points this season. Casey Mittelstadt has five goals and two assists over the last 10 games for Buffalo.

Brad Marchand leads the Bruins with 57 points, scoring 25 goals and collecting 32 assists. Patrice Bergeron has six goals and five assists over the last 10 games for Boston.

LAST 10 GAMES: Sabres: 4-5-1, averaging three goals, 4.3 assists, 2.9 penalties and 6.4 penalty minutes while giving up 3.1 goals per game with a .914 save percentage.

Bruins: 8-2-0, averaging 3.3 goals, 5.5 assists, 5.2 penalties and 12 penalty minutes while giving up 2.2 goals per game with a .926 save percentage.

INJURIES: Sabres: Carter Hutton: out (lower body), Jake McCabe: out (knee), Jack Eichel: out for season (neck), Linus Ullmark: out (lower body).

Bruins: None listed.

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