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

DALLAS – The Buffalo Sabres take on the Dallas Stars on Saturday at 8 p.m. EST at American Airlines Center.

Buffalo (8-7-4) is currently searching for a middle ground between all-out offensive pressure and defensive responsibility. It had the former in Wednesday’s game against Tampa Bay, but it opened rush opportunities for the Lightning’s dangerous forwards and resulted in an 8-3 loss.

The Sabres then leaned the other direction Thursday in Chicago, tightening up the defense but struggling to find their offensive footing, apart from first-period goals by Owen Power and Tage Thompson. A 3-2 overtime loss – with some controversy at the end – has the Sabres winless in their last three games (0-2-1).

“There was a lot of good on the defensive side of it,” coach Lindy Ruff said postgame. “I thought we missed some good opportunities to take advantage of some of the O-zone time we had. But if you play defense like that, you’re going to give yourself a chance to win every night.”

Things won’t get much easier Saturday against the 10-6-2 Stars, who haven’t scored a ton but have been one of the NHL’s stronger defensive teams. That said, Dallas is coming off an 8-3 home loss to Winnipeg, so perhaps the Sabres are in town at the right time.

Here are all the details before puck drop.

How to watch

TV (Sabres broadcast market): MSG (Pregame coverage begins at 7:30 p.m.)

Streaming (Sabres broadcast market): DAZN

Radio: WGR 550 / Buffalo Sabres App

More ways to watch/listen to Sabres games

Lineup notes

The Sabres didn’t practice as they traveled to Dallas on Friday, so check back after the 12:30 p.m. EST morning skate for potential updates.

It’ll be interesting to see how Buffalo rotates its goalies moving forward. Alex Lyon’s return from injured reserve – he made his season debut in Chicago – gives the Sabres three active goalies for the first time this season. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Colten Ellis both played in the Tampa Bay loss.

Notable numbers

• With 12 goals, Thompson is on pace for 53 this season. Last time Buffalo visited Dallas, Thompson had three points (2+1) in a New Year’s Eve win.
• Two assists in Chicago give Jack Quinn 19 points (9+10) in 19 games. His career high is 51 points (20+31), set last season.
• The Sabres enter Saturday on an eight-game road point streak (4-0-4). Their only road regulation loss came opening night in Columbus.

Scouting the Stars

Goalie Jake Oettinger, who had a 26-save shutout in Buffalo last month, was pulled Thursday after allowing six goals on 27 shots.

The Stars yielded a season-high-tying 30 shots in the 8-3 loss – they’ve allowed the second-fewest shots per game (23.3) in the league. And per Stathletes, they’ve also allowed the second-fewest high-danger chances per game (1.72).

Dallas will be without star defenseman Miro Heiskanen due to an upper-body injury. And fellow blueliner Lian Bischel (lower body) will also be unavailable after exiting Thursday’s loss.