Sabres vs. Panthers | How to watch, lineup notes, and storylines

The Buffalo Sabres conclude their three-game homestand against the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Saturday at KeyBank Center.

The Sabres are coming off their first win of the season, an eight-goal explosion against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday.

Zach Benson wasted no time making an impact in his season debut, tallying four assists in the 8-4 win. Benson missed the first three games of the season after taking a puck to the face in practice, which forced him to be hospitalized.

“I think, putting him in in the lineup, he's a guy that can handle the puck, he can make the small plays,” Ruff said. “I thought he helped our power play. Did a lot of good things in the game. It was good to see. He had a good camp. He really skated well. And just kind of a tough blow for us to see him take a puck in the face there and miss a few days."

Buffalo will look to keep its offense humming against a Florida team that has lost its last three games on the road.

Here’s everything you need to know before puck drop at 1 p.m.

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How to watch

TV (Buffalo broadcast market): MSG

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 12:40 p.m.)

Notably absent from practice on Friday was forward Justin Danforth, who left Wednesday’s game early in the second period with a lower-body injury after blocking a shot.

“He’s going to be out a significant amount of time,” Ruff said, adding that Danforth will miss over a month of action.

Defenseman Mattias Samuelsson is back in the lineup after missing two games due to an undisclosed injury.

Another lineup change features Kulich – who was originally slotted as the fourth-line right winger on Wednesday – back on the top line between Benson and Tage Thompson. The trio played together down the stretch last season.

Here are Buffalo's lines from warmups:

Scouting the Panthers

The Panthers enter Saturday’s showdown on a three-game losing streak with defeats to the Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Red Wings and New Jersey Devils after beginning the year 3-0.

Similarly to the Sabres, the Panthers have been hindered by injuries to several key pieces. Captain and three-time Selke Trophy winner Aleksander Barkov suffered a torn right ACL and MCL in September and Matthew Tkachuk is reportedly out until December due to surgery on a torn adductor and sports hernia.

The Panthers are without Tomas Nosek and were dealt a further blow as coach Paul Maurice announced on Wednesday that veteran defenseman Dmitry Kulikov underwent surgery after sustaining a labral tear and is out for five months.

Despite the injury hits, key returnees such as Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart and Brad Marchand – who was six points in six games – remain.

Ruff said his group will be challenged against a cohesive Panthers defensive unit and an offense that’s difficult to stop in transition.

"They know how to win, they're a deep team," Ruff said. “They're missing a couple big pieces but they still got [Brad] Marchand, you still got [Sam] Reinhart, you got [Aaron] Ekblad, you got a defense that's really good. You got a goaltender that's won two Stanley Cups, so we know we're in for a heck of a battle."