Buffalo Sabres
Sabres Preseason: Kulich Looking to Impress Against Penguins
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.
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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.
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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
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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