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Sabres Preseason: Kulich Looking to Impress Against Penguins

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Buffalo Sabres Pittsburgh Penguins preseason

It’s finally here. The 2024-2025 preseason kicks off at 7 p.m. for the Buffalo Sabres as they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins. It’s the first chance head coach Lindy Ruff gets to see his squad in action as he implements his uptempo, physical system with the team. With a blank slate, the Sabres will look to impress their new coaching staff and rediscover their scoring touch from a couple of seasons ago.



Where to Watch

Gametime: 7:00 p.m. ET

Location: KeyBank Center (Buffalo, NY)

TV: MSG (Buffalo), SN-PIT (Pittsburgh), NHL Network

Stream: MSG+; ESPN+ (Out-of-market)

Radio: WGR550

Sabres Gameday

The Sabres are icing a nearly entire lineup of prospected NHL players for this preseason contest, except for one line. Jiri Kulich, Peyton Krebs, and Lukas Rousek made up the most interesting line at the morning skate, as Kulich and Rousek are considered the top roster bubble players on the outside looking in.

Krebs is also looking to establish himself as an everyday player for the Sabres but appears to be occupying the 13th forward spot throughout training camp.

More Krebs: Krebs Signs Deal Before Training Camp

The player with the most to gain on the Sabres this preseason is Kulich, who was in a white powerplay jersey at the skate. He worked on Buffalo’s second powerplay unit on the right flank. The rest of the unit featured Dylan Cozens positioned net-front, Zach Benson in the bumper role, Bowen Byram as the left flank, and Owen Power quarterbacking up top.

As for the first unit, we saw JJ Peterka in a new role as the net front player. Subsequently, Alex Tuch shifted to the bumper role, and Tage Thompson and Jack Quinn were the flanks. Henri Jokiharju served as the placeholder for the incumbent Rasmus Dahlin as the quarterback.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was in the home team’s net, implying he will get the start tonight for the Sabres.

Sabres Preseason: 3 Sabres Preseason Position Battles to Watch

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins are playing a mixture of NHL players and prospects. The lineup features Emil Bemstrom, Drew O’Connor, Jesse Puljujarvi, Valtteri Puustinen, Ryan Graves, Ryan Shea, and John Ludvig as players who dressed for the Penguins last season.

Newly acquired top prospect Rutger McGroarty will play, as will newcomer Cody Glass. Both are players of interest at Penguins training camp, with the offensive upside to boost Pittsburgh’s production.

McGroarty was brought over in a one-for-one prospect swap with the Winnipeg Jets from Brayden Yager. Glass was acquired along with 2025 third-round and 2026 sixth-round draft picks in exchange for prospect Jordan Frasca.

Expected AHLers Joel Blomqvist and Filip Larsson will dress as the goalies.

Injury Report

Buffalo Sabres

  • Rasmus Dahlin (Mid-Body) Day-to-day
  • Viktor Neuchev (Upper Body) Day-to-day

Pittsburgh Penguins

  • Unspecified

Projected Lineups

Buffalo Sabres

Forwards

JJ Peterka – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch

Zach Benson – Dylan Cozens – Jack Quinn

Jiri Kulich – Peyton Krebs – Lukas Rousek

Beck Malenstyn – Sam Lafferty – Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Defense

Owen Power – Bowen Byram

Mattias Samuelsson – Henri Jokiharju

Jacob Bryson – Connor Clifton

Goalies

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Confirmed)

James Reimer

Michael Houser

Sabres Roster: Sabres Depth Chart Update Heading into Training Camp

Pittsburgh Penguins

Forwards

Rutger McGroarty – Drew O’Connor – Cody Glass

Jesse Puljujarvi – Tristan Broz – Valtteri Puustinen

Ville Koivunen – Vasily Ponomarev – Emil Bemstrom

Tanner Howe – Jimmy Huntington – Avery Hayes

Defense

Ryan Graves – Mac Hollowell

John Ludvig – Harrison Brunicke

Ryan Shea – Nathan Clurman

Goalies

Joel Blomqvist

Filip Larsson

Source: Taylor Haase, DK Pittsburgh Sports