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NHL on NBCSN: After a ‘big win’ over Ottawa, Sabres look to keep rolling against Avs

Colorado Avalanche v Buffalo Sabres

BUFFALO, NY - OCTOBER 19: Nikita Zadorov #61 of the Buffalo Sabres in his first NHL hockey game and John Mitchell #7 of the Colorado Avalanche fight for the puck at First Niagara Center on October 19, 2013 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Jen Fuller/Getty Images)

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NBCSN will continue its coverage of the 2016-17 campaign tonight when the Buffalo Sabres host the Colorado Avalanche at 7:30 p.m. ET. If you want to watch the game online, you can do so here.

All eyes are on the Colorado Avalanche right now and it’s not just because they’ve been awful this season (they have a league-worst 15-37-2 record). The reason everyone is intrigued by the Avs is because they could be major players ahead of the March 1st trade deadline.

Both Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog are having tough seasons, but when they’re at their best, they can be impact players in the NHL.

In the last few days, reports of GM Joe Sakic’s asking price have come to light and it’s clear that it’ll take a lot to get either one of them off Colorado’s roster.

On Wednesday, Sakic attempted to put a little cold water on the Duchene, Landeskog trade front, as he said he’s not looking to make a splash. Instead, expect them to move their pending unrestricted free agents like Jarome Iginla, John Mitchell, Rene Bourque and Fedor Tyutin.

“There have been a lot of conversations about a lot of different things,” Sakic told the Denver Post. “We’re in this position, so we’re certainly not going to be buyers at the deadline. We’re going to listen to offers for our (upcoming unrestricted free agents). That’s where we’re at. We want to start our rebuilding process and get younger. I’m not looking to do something big. If something happens, I will listen to get exactly what we want to help the team in the future, and we’ll certainly listen and think about it.”

Maybe that’s just a way of subtly telling other general managers that their current offers simply aren’t good enough to land them players of Duchene and Landeskog’s caliber.

If one team understands what the Avs are going through, it’s the Buffalo Sabres.

The Sabres have been stuck in a rebuild for a number of years and although they’re further along in the process than the Avalanche, they still aren’t as good as they want to be. They’ll enter tonight’s game five points behind Toronto for the final Wild Card spot in the Easter Conference.

Five points isn’t an insurmountable number for Buffalo to make up, but if they hope to sneak into the playoffs, they can’t afford to drop games to last-place teams.

The Sabres are coming off a big 3-2 comeback win over the Ottawa Senators. Buffalo went into the third period of that game trailing 2-1, but thanks to goals by Matt Moulson and Justin Bailey, they were able to come back and win.

A loss in that contest would have raised frustration levels in Buffalo, as they went into that game having lost two of their last three. But the win over Ottawa won’t mean much if they can’t follow it up with a strong performance tonight.

“We have to follow this up,” Brian Gionta said after the win over Ottawa, per the Buffalo News. “It feels good now and it’s a big win for us. But if we don’t follow it up on Thursday, it’s for naught.”