SABRES (5-4-3) at DUCKS (5-6-1)
10 p.m. ET; Disney+, HULU, ESPN+, SN+
Sabres projected lineup
Peyton Krebs -- Tage Thompson -- Zach Benson
Josh Doan -- Noah Ostlund -- Jack Quinn
Jason Zucker -- Ryan McLeod -- Josh Norris
Tyson Kozak -- Sam Carrick -- Beck Malenstyn
Rasmus Dahlin -- Mattias Samuelsson
Olen Zellweger -- Owen Power
Dennis Gilbert -- Louis Crevier
Colten Ellis
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Scratched: Zach Metsa
Injured: Jiri Kulich (concussion protocol), Justin Danforth (upper body), Matt Grzelcyk (lower body), Alex Lyon (upper body), Conor Timmins (lower body), Konsta Helenius (upper body)
Ducks projected lineup
Alex Killorn -- Leo Carlsson -- Judd Caulfield
Jeff Malott -- Mikael Granlund -- Beckett Sennecke
A.J. Greer -- Tim Washe -- Cutter Gauthier
Frank Vatrano -- Roger McQueen -- Sam Colangelo
Jackson LaCombe -- Noah Warren
Tyson Hinds -- Tristan Luneau
Pavel Mintyukov -- Drew Helleson
Lukas Dostal
Ville Husso
Scratched: Nikita Klepov, Nikita Nesterenko, Travis Mitchell, Nick Jensen
Injured: Ian Moore (lower body), Troy Terry (hip), Ryan Poehling (knee)
Status report
Helenius is returning to Buffalo for further evaluation, Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said after the morning skate; the forward took a hard hit from San Jose Sharks defenseman Jacob Trouba in the second period of a 2-0 win Tuesday and was limited to three shifts in the third period before leaving. ... Carrick will return after missing four games with a middle-body injury. ... Krebs will move from the fourth to the first line to fill Helenius' spot. ... Gilbert will come in for Metsa after being a healthy scratch against the Sharks. ... The Ducks did not hold a morning skate. ... Mintyukov practiced Wednesday and is expected to return after missing three games with a lower-body injury. ... Gauthier and Killorn switched lines at practice Wednesday.
