Buffalo Sabres News

The Sabres alternated between Luukkonen and Devon Levi in their back-to-back set to open the season in Prague as part of the NHL Global Series and will return to Luukkonen between the pipes for their first contest in North America. Luukkonen struggled in his first game, allowing three goals on 22 shots (.864 SV%) but is coming off a splendid 2023-24 campaign where he posted an impressive 2.57 GAA and .910 SV% in 54 appearances (27-22-4). The Sabres enter action on Thursday as +100 home underdogs against the Los Angeles Kings.

Benson played 17:23 TOI in Buffalo's season debut on Friday as part of the NHL Global Series in Prague but was unavailable for their contest on Saturday due to a lower-body injury. The 19-year-old Benson appeared in 71 games in 2023-24 and picked up 11 goals and 30 points.

The Sabres alternated between Luukkonen and Devon Levi in their back-to-back set to open the season in Prague as part of the NHL Global Series and will return to Luukkonen between the pipes for their first contest in North America. Luukkonen struggled in his first game, allowing three goals on 22 shots (.864 SV%) but is coming off a splendid 2023-24 campaign where he posted an impressive 2.57 GAA and .910 SV% in 54 appearances (27-22-4). The Sabres enter action on Thursday as +100 home underdogs against the Los Angeles Kings.

Benson played 17:23 TOI in Buffalo's season debut on Friday as part of the NHL Global Series in Prague but was unavailable for their contest on Saturday due to a lower-body injury. The 19-year-old Benson appeared in 71 games in 2023-24 and picked up 11 goals and 30 points. The Sabres return to action on Thursday, at home, against the Los Angeles Kings.

Benson played 17:23 TOI in Buffalo's season debut on Friday as part of the NHL Global Series in Prague but was unavailable for their contest on Saturday due to a lower-body injury. The 19-year-old Benson appeared in 71 games in 2023-24 and picked up 11 goals and 30 points. He is considered day-to-day at this point.

Kulich will get the chance to make his season debut in his home country of Czechia after it was announced Zach Benson would be out on Saturday vs. New Jersey. The 20-year-old centre is only making his second NHL appearance ever after making it into one game in 2023-24. He is expected to take Benson's spot in Buffalo's top-six.

Benson played 17:23 TOI in Buffalo's debut on Friday but is absent from the lineup for their second game on Saturday in Prague due to a lower-body injury. The Sabres' have yet to provide any updates on the severity of the issue of the flashy 19-year-old who appeared in 71 games in 2023-24 and picked up 11 goals and 30 points.

Levi split his 2023-24 season between the NHL and the AHL and will start 2024-25 as the Sabres' No.2 netminder behind Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. During his 23 NHL games last season, Levi was 10-8-2 with a 3.10 GAA and .899 SV%. Buffalo is coming off of a 4-1 loss to the Devils on Friday and are +127 underdogs.

Levi split his 2023-24 season between the NHL and the AHL and will start 2024-25 as the Sabres' No.2 netminder behind Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. During his 23 NHL games last season, Levi was 10-8-2 with a 3.10 GAA and .899 SV%. Buffalo is coming off of a 4-1 loss to the Devils on Friday and are +127 underdogs.

Danforth underwent off-season wrist surgery and has not participated in training camp. Danforth will likely start the season on injured reserve, and Mikael Pyyhtia looks like the player who will take his place in the Blue Jackets' bottom-6.

Luukkonen emerged as the Sabres' starting netminder in the 2023-24 season, surprisingly edging out Devon Levi, and will likely begin the 2024-25 campaign with an opportunity to reprise his role in the team's first game on Friday against the New Jersey Devils in Prague as part of the NHL Global Series. In his first full season, the 25-year-old netminder played 54 games (27-22-4), recording a solid 2.57 GAA and .910 SV%. Luukkonen will look to pick up where he left off but will be challenged in his first outing against an improved Devils squad that is oozing with offensive talent.

Luukkonen emerged as the Sabres' starting netminder in the 2023-24 season, surprisingly edging out Devon Levi, and will likely begin the 2024-25 campaign with an opportunity to reprise his role in the team's first game on Friday against the New Jersey Devils in Prague as part of the NHL Global Series. In his first full season, the 25-year-old netminder played 54 games (27-22-4), recording a solid 2.57 GAA and .910 SV%. Luukkonen will look to pick up where he left off but will be challenged in his first outing against an improved Devils squad that is oozing with offensive talent.

Norris has been out since late-February after undergoing his third surgery on his left shoulder. The Senators have been cautious with Norris throughout training camp to ensure he's ready to go for the start of the season. Tuesday will be his pre-season debut and he'll look to stay healthy this season after missing 106 games over the last two seasons.

Dahlin left practice early on Wednesday with an undisclosed injury but luckily will only be forced to miss a couple of days of training camp after Lindy Ruff announced Thursday he was "doing well". The 24-year-old defenseman surpassed the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career in 2023-24 while also putting up 59 points, 235 SOG and 66 PIMs in 81 games played.

Just a few minutes into the Sabres' first skate of training camp, Dahlin left with what head coach Lindy Ruff described as a middle-body injury. Dahlin experienced discomfort on a routine pass and did not return after being evaluated by trainers. Ruff did not have an update on Dahlin after the skate.

Krebs will remain a Sabre after agreeing to a two-year, $2.9 million ($1,450,000 AAV) contract extension on Tuesday morning. The 23-year-old was Vegas' 2019 1st-round pick (17th overall) but has spent the last three seasons in Buffalo. In 2023-24, he unfortunately failed to take an expected step forward but still put up four goals, 17 points, 67 PIMs and 74 SOG in 80 games played.

Buffalo solified its goaltending for years to come after it signed Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to a five-year, $23.75 million contract extension ($4,750,000 AAV). The 25-year-old was drafted by Buffalo in the 2nd round of the 2017 NHL Draft (54th overall) and set career highs in wins (27), appearances (54) and GAA (2.57) in 2023-24 as Buffalo's starter.

Buffalo acquired Beck Malenstyn's rights on June 29th in a trade with Washington for a 2024 second-round pick and have signed the 26-year-old forward to a two-year, $2.7 million contract ($1,300,000 AAV). The left-winger is entering just his second full NHL season after playing in only 24 games in his first three years in the NHL before completing 81 games played in 2023-24. He set career highs last season in all statistical categories with six goals, 21 points, 25 PIMs and 98 SOG.