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

The Buffalo Sabres conclude a five-game homestand and open a stretch of Atlantic Division play against the Florida Panthers on Monday afternoon.

Following the meeting with the Panthers, the Sabres will hit the road for three more games against division opponents: at Montreal on Tuesday, at Toronto on Thursday, then at Montreal again on Saturday.

It will be an important stretch for the reigning division champions, who are searching to establish their game after consecutive losses to Dallas and Utah in which they were held to a combined one goal.

“It’s hard to score in this league,” Tage Thompson said following the Utah game. “Whether you’re fighting the puck or you don’t think you’re generating clean looks, that’s when you just got to get to the net and throw pucks and get bodies there and just get ugly.

“I think you get rewarded when you go to the net and good things happen. It’s something that our group can do a lot better job of right now. I think we’re waiting for a perfect play or a clear lane, a perfect shot, instead of just firing it in and getting bodies there.”

The Panthers will be looking to rebound as well, having dropped their most recent game 4-1 to Minnesota on Saturday.

The puck drops at 1 p.m. Here’s what you need to know in the meantime.

How to watch

TV (Sabres broadcast market): MSG (Pregame coverage begins at 12:30 p.m.)

Streaming (Sabres broadcast market): DAZN

Streaming (out of market): ESPN+

Radio: WGR 550 / Buffalo Sabres App

More ways to watch/listen to Sabres games

Lineup notes

The Sabres continued to shuffle their lines at practice on Sunday, reverting the top six to their season-opening look: Thompson centering Peyton Krebs and Josh Doan on the first line and Noah Östlund centering Zach Benson and Jack Quinn on the second.

The third and fourth lines each rotated four players at practice, so we’ll have to wait until pregame warmups at 12:30 p.m. for a clearer picture of who will be scratched at forward. Last game, it was Konsta Helenius and Jiri Kulich who sat.

Colten Ellis had his own net in practice, signaling a likely start.

Numbers to know

• Ellis made 28 saves on 31 shots (.903) in his only career start against Florida, a 4-3 home loss on Jan. 12.
• Two of the winningest coaches in NHL history will be in the building on Monday. Florida coach Paul Maurice ranks third on the league’s all-time wins list at 958; Ruff ranks fourth at 952.
• Thompson is one goal shy of tying Jason Pominville for 10th most in Sabres history.

Scouting the Panthers

Florida has had to weather injuries to open its season. Captain Aleksander Barkov – having missed all of last season with an injury to his right knee – is expected to miss six to eight weeks after he sustained an injury to his left knee on opening night.

Brad Marchand is also expected to miss six weeks with a lower-body injury, which he sustained last Tuesday.

The Panthers have been competitive in spite of those injuries. They hadn’t lost a game in regulation prior to their 4-1 setback against the Wild on Saturday and boast some of the league’s best possession metrics at 5-on-5.

Buffalo will also get its first look at the pairing of brothers Matthew and Brady Tkachuk after the latter was acquired by Florida during the summer. Brady is without a point through five games with the Panthers.