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

The Sabres play their penultimate game of the preseason against the Pittsburgh Penguins at KeyBank Center on Wednesday.

Coach Lindy Ruff announced that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will make his preseason debut and Jiri Kulich will return to the lineup after a three-game absence.

The Sabres are 3-1 in preseason action and are coming off a 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings that featured three-point performances from Tage Thompson and Josh Norris.

Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. Here’s more on tonight's game.

How to watch

Streaming: MSG

Radio: WGR 550

Tonight’s roster

Here's how the game group lined up during the morning skate:

Luukkonen making preseason debut

Luukkonen made his return to practice on Sept. 25 after a late offseason lower-body injury held him out the first eight days of training camp.

Ruff said he's yet to make a decision on whether Luukkonen will play the entire game or just the opening two periods. Alex Lyon and Alexandar Georgiev – the other two remaining goalies on Buffalo’s roster – both played two periods in their first preseason starts.

Ruff was asked what he hopes to see from Luukkonen.

“Just health and feeling good in net,” Ruff said. “Like I said, we've changed some things with the way we're playing. We're trying to really tighten up defensively and at the same time, not have that hurt us offensively. So just to get him in between the pipes and have him feel good, so it'll be great to see him in net tomorrow night.”

Kulich returning to the lineup

Kulich was back on the ice for practice on Tuesday after missing time with what Ruff described as a tweaked muscle. The 21-year-old has missed the last three games since recording an assist in the preseason opener.

Kulich was paired alongside Josh Doan and Jack Quinn in practice, a line that was used in the opener.

Johnson cultivating his role

Ryan Johnson – a former first-round pick – has played in a pair of preseason games and logged over 18 minutes of ice time on Saturday.

Ruff said the defenseman made his presence felt with a level of physicality and intensity that pairs well with his smooth skating ability. Johnson was with Conor Timmins in practice on Tuesday and is in line to play Wednesday with injuries to fellow left-shot defensemen Owen Power (day to day), Bowen Byram (who skated on his own Tuesday), and Mattias Samuelsson (week to week).

“He gave us a good game the other night,” Ruff said. “Probably one of the better games. He needs to be noticed. He needs to be hard to play against, use the legs, be physical, I thought he answered the call on all of those. I think he can kill penalties with those legs. He can play against the top players if he stays under control. I think he understands there's a way to get there and to be a regular player.”