What It Means:

Nilsson has been used sparingly this season by Buffalo, but after his 24-save, one goal performance against the New York Rangers on Tuesday, the Sabres are turning to their reserve netminder once again. Thursday's matchup is a bit daunting as the Blackhawks own a 13-4-4 record at home while Nilsson owns a 2.74 goals-against average on the road this year.

Our models have confidence in Nilsson versus the Blackhawks, and we project him as the third-best goalie option with 28.1 saves on 30.5 shots faced and a 42.0 percent chance of winning.