Sabres vs. Penguins | Game roster, storylines, and how to watch Buffalo’s preseason finale

Erik Johnson is set to make his preseason debut Friday as the Sabres host the Pittsburgh Penguins at KeyBank Center at 7 p.m.

The Sabres will play a group that resembles the team’s opening night lineup while the Penguins will do the same.

Tickets are available here.

The game will be available on MSG beginning with a pregame show at 6:30 p.m., featuring commentary from Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray. Radio coverage can be found on WGR 550.

The full roster for Friday is as follows:

Forwards (12)

9 Zach Benson

24 Dylan Cozens

28 Zemgus Girgensons

12 Jordan Greenway

17 Tyson Jost

19 Peyton Krebs

37 Casey Mittelstadt

71 Victor Olofsson

77 JJ Peterka

53 Jeff Skinner

72 Tage Thompson

89 Alex Tuch

Defensemen (6)

75 Connor Clifton

26 Rasmus Dahlin

6 Erik Johnson

10 Henri Jokiharju

25 Owen Power

23 Mattias Samuelsson

Goalies (2)

27 Devon Levi

1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Sabres vs. Penguins.

Johnson’s debut

Johnson was previously slated to make his preseason debut Wednesday in Columbus but was held out due to lower-body aggravation. Following Thursday’s practice, Sabres coach Don Granato expressed his excitement to see the veteran defenseman in the lineup.

“He’s easy to pick out in practice because of his size and how hard he works, and he’s exploding here and exploding there. So, to get in a game and get around our players and in our system is something we’re looking forward to,” Granato said.

In the crease

Devon Levi will start in his third exhibition game after recording wins in his first two starts. On Thursday, Granato compared the young goalie to former NHL goaltenders Mike Richter and Curtis Joseph because of Levi’s athletic abilities and cerebral process.

“…Devon has both of those qualities. He’s an amazing athlete, quick. Quick as any goalie there is. So, he’s athletically gifted, but he also has that real cerebral side,” Granato said. “So, it’s a combination of two that I think of and two pretty good ones."

Benson’s back

Zach Benson will appear in his sixth preseason game for the Sabres since recording five points (3+2) in his first five contests. After practice on Thursday, Granato emphasized Benson’s ability to sustain his confidence and production throughout camp.

"He’s been good from onset," Granato said. "So, it doesn’t appear that he’s actually developed it through camp, he’s just shown yesterday what he showed on Day 1. There’s been no wear or tear or drop.

"He sustained it all the way through. So, I don’t look at it as if he’s gotten better. He was really good Day 1 and he’s been able to sustain it all the way through.”

Scouting the Penguins

Buffalo will once again face off against Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, and Erik Karlsson in a rematch of last Thursday’s game in Pittsburgh, which saw the Sabres fall to the Penguins 3-1.

Below is Pittsburgh’s full roster.