BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Sabres will continue their training camp in Europe starting on Wednesday, so Lindy Ruff wanted to put his NHL players into the early preseason games. That’s why the Sabres played an NHL-heavy roster in their preseason opener on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who ran out a roster loaded with rookies. The result, as you would expect, was lopsided. After the first period ended 1-1, the Sabres opened the floodgates, scoring five second-period goals and racing to a 7-3 win.
It was a nice tuneup for Buffalo’s top players. JJ Peterka had a hat trick and looked ready to pick up where he left off a season ago. The Sabres’ power play, a sore spot a season ago, scored one goal on three tries. The fourth line brought the physicality the Sabres have lacked.
We’re not going to draw grand conclusions about the 2024-25 Sabres based on a preseason game with such uneven rosters, but the Sabres do appear to be getting closer to nailing down their opening-night lineup. Here’s our first preseason depth chart projection. The Sabres are allowed to take 27 players to Europe, which buys them time to make decisions on the 23-man roster. This is a projection for the opening-night, 20-man lineup with some thoughts on the battles for the final roster spots.
First line
This was the group that finished last season together, and Ruff doesn’t want to change it early on. He likes how Peterka can make teams pay if they are paying too much attention to Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch. Peterka’s fresh off a 28-goal season and has been on a roll to start training camp. He looks stronger and more assertive and has plenty of confidence after his breakout season.
“With confidence, I don’t know what the ceiling is,” Ruff said.
One thing Owen Power noted against the Penguins: Peterka scored two of those goals on deflections. That wasn’t a major part of his game last season. Ruff has emphasized creating more traffic in front of the other team’s goalie, and Peterka is buying in. Given how skilled he is with his stick, that’s a major area of untapped potential in his game.
That left-wing spot was the variable on the first line coming into camp, but Thompson and Tuch bouncing back will be key to this line reaching its potential. Both are healthy and seem to recognize the way they performed last season wasn’t good enough. Ruff is emphasizing getting more net-front presence and scoring in different ways, and Thompson noted that as something he saw on video watching his game over the summer.
“For me, last year there were a few games where I was a little too perimeter and could have gone to the net a little bit more. I slowed the game down a little bit too much instead of using my size and speed. That’s when I’m at my best — when I’m driving the play and taking pucks to the net and then from there I get my time and space.”
Second line
This is a line full of potential. If Jack Quinn can stay healthy, he could be a difference-maker for the Sabres. Quinn had 2.93 points per 60 minutes last season at five-on-five, which ranked fifth among NHL players who played at least 20 games. Unfortunately, Quinn only played in 27 games because of an Achilles injury and a leg injury. He’s fully healthy and looks as comfortable as ever on Dylan Cozens’ wing. When those two were playing with Zach Benson last season at five-on-five, the Sabres had 54 percent of the expected goals. Ruff said he’s hardly had to coach Benson because he’s constantly doing the right thing on the ice and executing the scheme as it is drawn up.
That gives Benson the edge over Jiří Kulich, who rotated on this line during the first day of practice. Kulich is the better shooter, but Benson is the more reliable all-around player at this point and his tenacious style on the forecheck blends well with Cozens and Quinn.
Kulich has played on a line with Peyton Krebs and Lukas Rousek, the two other forwards competing for spots at the bottom of the depth chart. Kulich will likely travel with the team to Europe, and Rousek could be part of that group as well. But Kulich looks like he’ll start the season as a first-line AHL player and be the first player called up if there’s an injury in the top six.
Third line
This line has been steady throughout camp. There is some question about how Jordan Greenway’s lack of top-end speed will mesh with Jason Zucker and Ryan McLeod, but this is a mix of experienced players who should be able to limit chances against when they’re on the ice. McLeod has looked like the type of player who can drive that line. He’s strong in puck support in the defensive zone and quick to transition plays.
“Those are the type of guys who can change the dynamic and have been in the wars,” Ruff said.
This is a much different third line than the Sabres had last season. All three players are proven defensively. That’s why it appears Kulich’s only path to the roster is on the top six. Ruff seems to have a vision for how he wants the bottom six to play, and these veterans fit that.
Fourth line
Buffalo’s fourth line has been full of new additions. Beck Malenstyn, Sam Lafferty and Nicolas Aubé-Kubel look like they’re going to stick together early in the season. Ruff has a clear vision for the way he wants that line to play, and all three of those players are fast and physical. Even in a preseason game on Saturday, it was clear Aubé-Kubel is going to hit everything that moves. And Lafferty was quick to engage after the whistle and stick up for teammates. These are the little things the Sabres didn’t have enough of last season. Ruff loved their game in the preseason opener.
“It’s like a running game in football,” Ruff said. “They got the puck down low, they hung onto it, (the other team) couldn’t take the puck away from them. They made five or six great plays for scoring opportunities, but the puck possession was something that can wear a team down.”
Krebs has his work cut out for him in trying to earn a spot on this line. For now, he looks like the 13th forward and could need an injury to get into the lineup. There is no reason to mess with the third and fourth lines given how they’ve looked early in camp. All three players on the fourth line are faster, more experienced and hit harder than Krebs.
Beck Malenstyn is one of the new faces on Buffalo’s presumptive fourth line. (Timothy T. Ludwig / Imagn Images)
Defense
Until Rasmus Dahlin is on the ice, we won’t get a clear picture of what the Sabres want their defense to look like. For now, though, I’m projecting Bowen Byram to play with Dahlin. They played well together when Byram first came over via trade, and Dahlin is comfortable playing on the right side. Ruff thought Byram was the best player in Buffalo’s scrimmage on Friday. He had a careless turnover in the preseason game but showed off what an asset his skating can be on the breakout.
That leaves Power playing with Henri Jokiharju. This pair wasn’t perfect last season, but these two have familiarity with each other and another year of individual development beckons. Power still needs to get stronger in front of the net, but Jokiharju has looked a bit stronger in terms of his physical play in the first few days of camp.
That would leave Mattias Samuelsson to play with Connor Clifton on the third pair. Samuelsson could easily jump into the top four with any of those four players, but this gives the Sabres two lefty-righty pairs. Samuelsson and Clifton can both play a heavy defensive game and maybe a third-pair role would limit the wear and tear on Samuelsson, who has missed a lot of time with injuries the last two years.
Right now, Jacob Bryson and Dennis Gilbert are competing for the seventh spot on defense. Bryson seems like he has the early edge, but Ruff has noted Gilbert can bring a level of physicality few others on Buffalo’s blue line can match. That might be enough to keep him on the roster if the Sabres decide to go with eight defensemen. But this is a competition that still needs to play itself out.
Goalies
The Sabres could keep three goalies, but that’s not the preferred outcome, according to general manager Kevyn Adams. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devon Levi have been the clear one-two punch at the start of camp. James Reimer hasn’t played in the AHL in more than a decade, but the Sabres could try to pass him through waivers when the time comes to pave the way for Levi to play more games.
Extras
Krebs looks like a roster lock as the 13th forward. If the Sabres decide to go with 14 forwards on the 23-man roster, the decision could come down to Kulich or Rousek. Rousek would need to pass through waivers to get to the AHL. Kulich has improved his competitiveness and habits away from the puck, but there’s not a role for him in the top six when everyone is healthy, so the Sabres may opt to keep him in a top-line role in the AHL.
The next decision would be whether to keep seven or eight defensemen, which means deciding between Bryson or Gilbert or keeping both. There’s always the three-goalie wild card as well, given Reimer’s experience and the fact he’s on a one-way contract.
Either way, the Sabres can carry 27 players on the roster in Europe, so I would expect Kulich, Rousek, Bryson, Gilbert, Ryan Johnson and Reimer to all be on that trip. But only two can be on the roster beyond that. My picks for the final three spots would be Krebs, Rousek and Gilbert at the moment.
(Top photo of JJ Peterka celebrating one of three goals vs. the Penguins: Timothy T. Ludwig / Imagn Images)
