Buffalo, Tampa Bay
Buffalo Sabres (8-6-3) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (11-4-2)
Puck Drop: 7 p.m. ET | KeyBank Center, Buffalo, N.Y.
TV: TNT/truTV, HBOMax
Radio: WGR 550
Know Your Opponent
Tampa Bay Lightning
Record: 11-4-2
Last Game: 4-3 loss at Winnipeg
Division Ranking: 3rd
PP: 22nd, 19.4% [Sabres: 30th, 14.3%]
PK: 24th, 72.9% [Sabres: 26th, 71.2%]
Season Series: Sabres 3-0-1 vs. Lightning in 2025-26 season
What to Watch
1. Fireworks inbound?
As the Sabres and Lightning meet for the first time this season, it’s hard not to think back to (arguably) the greatest regular season Sabres game this decade.
Goals, fights, comebacks and everything in between made last season’s 8-7 Sabres win over Tampa Bay an instant classic, and a crucial game in Buffalo’s march to claim the Atlantic Division. Why not run it back?
“It’s a division game,” forward Zach Benson told Sabres.com. “It’s a big two points. It’s a four-point game early, so it’s always gonna be heated. Those division (games) are always gonna be heated, tough, hard to play against. We’re ready for it, and we’re excited.”
2. McLeod in, Kulich out
After taking a seat for two games, Ryan McLeod is poised to return to the Sabres lineup, taking the place of Jiri Kulich.
The two forwards haven’t met expectations so far this season, with both posting just three points. With Kulich returning from missing nearly an entire season, it’s fair to assume it’ll take some time to find his game and scoring touch, but McLeod’s poor play has been more of a surprise.
McLeod was one of Buffalo’s most consistent forwards a year ago, but has only seemed to be visible for the wrong reasons in this early season. His defensive blunder in last week’s loss to Ottawa allowed the Senators to tie the game late, and may well have been a contributor to his benching.
He is slated to center a line with Josh Doan and Jason Zucker, two other Sabres who have not quite lived up to expectations this season. Time will tell if watching a couple games from the press box helps reinvigorate the 27-year-old.
3. Home ice scoring struggles
The Sabres have not found their scoring touch at home.
Buffalo ranks 31st in the NHL with an 8.2 shooting percentage at all strengths on home ice, compared to 8th on the road. They have scored 13.64 goals below expected at home, the worst mark in the league.
Buffalo has long been a positive shooting team, which greatly helped them return to the playoffs a year ago. While the Sabres lost some offensive talent in Alex Tuch, it does fully not explain the regression of home-ice scoring, as Buffalo ranked 6th in the NHL in home shooting percentage last season.
The good news for the Sabres, though, is that they are doing the right things to win games at home. Despite their woeful scoring numbers, they have actually been a top 10 team at driving play on home ice with a 54.97 xGF%.
So, is it the loss of scoring talent? Running into hot goalies? Simply bad luck? Who’s to say. But if the Sabres continue to get the chances they’ve been creating, it’s hard to imagine their finishing will stay this poor.
*All stats courtesy of NaturalStatTrick.
4. A notable debut
The Lightning are set to give their top prospect a shot on NHL ice Wednesday.
Forward Sam O’Reilly was called up from AHL Syracuse in the wake of an injury to Lightning star Brayden Point, and it appears the 20-year-old Toronto native will make his NHL debut against the Sabres.
O’Reilly was acquired from Edmonton last summer in a straight swap of highly-touted prospects, as Isaac Howard was sent to the Oilers. In 12 AHL games, O’Reilly has posted four points. He is a two-time Memorial Cup winner, and was the tournament’s MVP in 2026 with the Kitchener Rangers.
Injury Notes
Sabres defenseman Louis Crevier is a game-time decision for Wednesday’s game, according to Lindy Ruff. Meanwhile, goalie Alex Lyon will join Buffalo on its upcoming road trip as he works back from a shoulder injury, meaning it likely won’t be long before he makes his season debut.
As mentioned above, Tampa Bay will be missing a big piece in forward Brayden Point, who exited Sunday’s game against Winnipeg with an injury.
Projected Lineups
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
Peyton Krebs – Josh Norris – Tage Thompson
Zach Benson – Noah Ostlund – Jack Quinn
Josh Doan – Ryan McLeod – Jason Zucker
Sam Carrick – Tyson Kozak – Beck Malenstyn
Defense
Rasmus Dahlin – Mattias Samuelsson
Owen Power – Olen Zellweger
Zach Metsa – Conor Timmins
Goaltenders
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (projected starter), Colten Ellis
Tampa Bay Lightning
Note: No reported lines prior to pregame
Forwards
Jake Guentzel – Anthony Cirelli – Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel – Sam O’Reilly – Yanni Gourde
Ilya Mikheyev – Zemgus Girgensons – Pontus Holmberg
Jeff Viel – Conor Geekie
Defense
Charle-Edouard D’Astous – John Carlson
Ryan McDonagh – Erik Cernak
Victor Hedman – JJ Moser
Max Crozier
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy (projected starter), Dennis Hildeby
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