October 11

The Buffalo Sabres hit the road for their second game of the 2025-26 regular season, a Saturday night showdown with the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.

Following Thursday’s 4-0 loss in the opener versus New York, Buffalo looks to build upon the positives from that first game – the defense and penalty killing, primarily – and get rolling offensively.

While the scorers find their footing and several key players deal with injuries, the Sabres will lean heavily on goaltender Alex Lyon. In his team debut, he made 29 saves and kept Buffalo within a goal for 55 minutes, but he was disappointed about allowing two late ones that put the game out of reach.

“You never know which save is going to be really important, and that’s the mentality that I strive for: just continue to be dialed for the whole game,” Lyon said.

The 34-year-old, Buffalo’s starter while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen recovers from a lower-body injury, is embracing one of the biggest opportunities yet in his nine-season NHL career. And Thursday’s performance inspired confidence that he can help lead an early-season run for the Sabres.

"I think he gave us a chance to win a hockey game,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “He was sharp.”

“For sure, (some) things to take away,” Lyon said of his and the team’s performance. “But you play the game to win, as well, so we’ve got to try to get a win on Saturday.”

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the divisional showdown.

How to watch

TV (Buffalo broadcast market): MSG

Streaming: Gotham Sports App, ESPN+ (out of market)

Radio: WGR 550

More ways to watch/listen to Sabres games

Lineup notes (updated 6:40 p.m.)

Defenseman Owen Power, after sitting out Thursday due to illness, is off injured reserve and in the lineup for his season debut. Forward Tyson Kozak also draws in for his first regular season action.

Here are the lines from warmups:

Projected Lineups

Scouting the Bruins

The Bruins have raced out to a 2-0-0 start under first-year head coach Marco Sturm, beating Washington and Chicago on back-to-back nights.

Boston may be shorter on star power after March’s trade-deadline teardown, but the top of the lineup remains a force. First liners David Pastrnak, Elias Lindholm and Morgan Geekie have combined for nine points (4+5) through two games, and Charlie McAvoy has returned from last season’s injury to lead the defense corps.

Goalie Jeremy Swayman started the season strong with 35 saves on 36 shots Wednesday in Washington. Backup Joonas Korpisalo played Thursday, so Swayman figures to be back between the pipes against the Sabres. Buffalo faced the 26-year-old once in 2024-25, on Jan. 28 at KeyBank Center, and beat him six times in a 7-2 win.

In fact, last season, the Sabres outscored the Bruins 17-10 en route to a 3-1-0 record head-to-head.