Sabres at Avalanche | How to watch, lineup notes, and storylines

The Buffalo Sabres will look to tighten up defensively when they visit the NHL’s top team in the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena on Thursday.

The Sabres are coming off a 5-2 loss in Utah on Wednesday in which led 2-0 on a pair of goals from Isak Rosen but allowed the Mammoth to score five unanswered.

“With the manpower we’re down, you build that lead, you’ve got to defend better,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “We didn’t defend well enough. We’re a better defending team than that.”

Read the full story from Salt Lake City in Wednesday’s Postgame Report.

The Sabres’ next test is the NHL-leading Avalanche, currently on a four-game winning streak and boasting the league’s highest-scoring offense at 4.00 goals per game.

Buffalo is still seeking its first road win of the season, having fallen to 0-4-2 away from KeyBank Center with the loss in Utah.

The puck drops at 9. Here’s what you need to know in the meantime.

How to watch

TV (Buffalo broadcast market): MSG (Pregame coverage begins at 8:30 p.m.)

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

Radio: WGR 550 / Buffalo Sabres App

More ways to watch/listen to Sabres games

Lineup notes (updated 8:50 p.m.)

Ruff confirmed Wednesday that Zach Benson (lower) did not join the team for the road trip, meaning he will remain sidelined tonight along with fellow forwards Jiri Kulich (blood clot), Josh Norris (upper), Justin Danforth (lower) and Jason Zucker (illness).

Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin also remains on a person leave of absence in Sweden.

Here's the projected lineup from warmups, with Alex Lyon in net. The only other change from Wednesday's lines is Tage Thompson and Ryan McLeod swapping positions on the top group.

Scouting the Avalanche

The Avalanche won the first matchup of the season series 3-1 in Buffalo on Oct. 13. Nathan MacKinnon scored a pair of goals that night, which proved to be a teaser for one of the NHL’s hottest starts.

MacKinnon leads the NHL in goals (14) and points (32) and is the league’s reigning First Start of the Week. He’s tallied at least three points in each of his last three games.

Colorado has outscored opponents 19-8 with its top line of MacKinnon, Artturi Lehkonen, and Martin Necas on the ice at 5-on-5, according to Natural Stat Trick.

With MacKinnon, Necas (20 points) and Cale Makar (23 points, most among NHL defensemen) driving the offense, the Avalanche have also proven to be one of the league’s top teams at preventing goals. Their average of 9.62 high-danger chances against is the second-best mark in the NHL.

Mackenzie Blackwood is expected to start in goal for Colorado. He’s got an .875 save percentage in two games played this season.