BUFFALO -- The Buffalo Sabres will have two players return to the lineup when they face the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; FS-A, MSG-B, BELL TV).
Defenseman Zach Bogosian and forward Patrick Kaleta will be back. Bogosian has been out since March 11 with a lower-body injury and missed the past six games. Kaleta hasn't played since Feb. 10 because of a lower-body injury.
"They bring excitement, they bring passion and aggressiveness," Sabres coach Ted Nolan said.
Bogosian had four assists and averaged 26:44 of ice time since he was acquired from the Winnipeg Jets on Feb. 11.
"It was kind of day-to-day, some days felt better than others," Bogosian said. "I'm feeling pretty good now. A few good skates, I feel more confident now, so it feels good."
Kaleta's injury was related to surgery he had on his ACL last season. In 33 games this season, he has three assists and 32 penalty minutes.
"It feels good," Kaleta said. "I'm proud of myself for the way I've came back with the injuries I've had. Especially the broken face and the ACL, there's nothing really to fool around with … I'm definitely excited."
Matt Hackett will start in goal. In three appearances, including two starts, Hackett is 0-3-0 with a .893 save percentage. Hackett made 40 saves in a 3-0 loss to the Nashville Predators on Saturday.
"He was a little bit more composed, a little bit more positionally aligned," Nolan said. "He was coming out of his crease a lot better. … A lot better than he was last year."
The Coyotes will be without forward Lauri Korpikoski against the Sabres. Korpikoski was injured Tuesday when he was struck in the mouth with a high stick from Detroit Red Wings defenseman Marek Zidlicky.
"I'd ask him [how he's feeling] but he can't talk because he's got so many sutures in his mouth, so it's tough slugging for him right now," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "[He's got] two or three cuts in and out of his mouth. He's eating through a straw right now."
Forward Tye McGinn will replace Korpikoski in the lineup. He was picked up on waivers from the San Jose Sharks on March 2. The Coyotes will also make a switch on defense from their last game, putting Brandon Gormley back in and scratching Andrew Campbell. Gormley has two goals and two assists in 25 games this season.
"He's a young player that's trying to establish himself in the NHL," Tippett said. "He's had some good games, he's had some games where he's taken a step back. He got up and running and was going pretty good at the start of the year. Then about six weeks in he got a bad injury and missed a bunch of time and is still trying to recover that pace he had at the start of the year."
Mike Smith will start in goal. Smith is 2-7-0 with a .936 save percentage in March.
The Sabres have one win in the past 10 games and are 30th in the NHL, five points behind the Coyotes. Arizona has won three times in the past 21 games.
"Losing … this is miserable. It's miserable," Tippett said. "You never want to be in this situation; unfortunately, we are. You deal with it. Right now it's about trying to push players and evaluate players, and I've said it over the last few weeks. We're looking for players that, are you part of the solution moving forward or are you part of the problem? When you have a season like this there's going to be changes. We're looking for players that want to be part of the solution."
Here are the projected lineups:
COYOTES
Tobias Rieder – Mark Arcobello – Shane Doan
Martin Erat – Sam Gagner – David Moss
Tye McGinn – Kyle Chipchura – Jordan Szwarz
Craig Cunningham – Joe Vitale – B.J. Crombeen
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Michael Stone
Scratched: Andrew Campbell
Injured: Lauri Korpikoski (upper body), Martin Hanzal (back), Mikkel Boedker (spleen)
SABRES
Matt Moulson – Johan Larsson – Tyler Ennis
Marcus Foligno – Philip Varone – Brian Gionta
Zac Dalpe– Mikhail Grigorenko – Cody Hodgson
Nicolas Deslauriers – Matt Ellis – Patrick Kaleta
Mike Weber – Rasmus Ristolainen
Nikita Zadorov – Andrej Meszaros
Scratched: Tyson Strachan
Injured: Zach Bogosian (lower body), Jerry D'Amigo (upper body), Zemgus Girgensons (lower body), Josh Gorges (lower body), Chad Johnson (lower body), Cody McCormick (blood clots), Evander Kane (shoulder)
Status report: Nolan said D'Amigo will be out for the rest of the season after he underwent facial surgery. D'Amigo was injured by a high stick from Predators forward Craig Smith on March 21. Smith was assessed a double-minor for high sticking and fined $5,000 by the NHL Player Safety Office for the incident.
Who's hot: Ekman-Larsson has a two-game point streak with a goal and two assists. … Larsson has seven points in the past eight games.
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