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

The Buffalo Sabres will have a new banner awaiting them when they take the ice for their home opener against the Chicago Blackhawks tonight at KeyBank Center.

A “2025-26 Atlantic Division Champions” banner will be hanging in the rafters, a reminder of last year’s drought-ending run and the work it took to get there.

“I think it will be a good reminder for us of how hard it was to get to that point,” Tage Thompson said. “It’s not going to be an easy ride this year by any means just because we made it last year. It will be even harder. I think the group’s excited and ready for the challenge ahead. Just take it a game at a time.”

The Sabres are looking for their first win after opening the season with a 6-3 loss in Columbus on Thursday. What’s sure to be a raucous KeyBank Center atmosphere should help; the team went 26-10-5 on home ice last season.

Tonight's game opens a five-game homestand for Buffalo, one of two such stretches this season.

"We'll take it one game at a time, but obviously an important stretch for us," coach Lindy Ruff said.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the 7 p.m. puck drop.

• Today's Party in the Plaza begins at 3 p.m. - details here

How to watch

TV (Sabres broadcast market): MSG (Pregame coverage begins at 6:30 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

Olen Zellweger is expected to make his Sabres debut after missing the opener with a concussion.

Zellweger’s concussion was the result of a hit by Columbus defenseman Carson Soucy during a preseason game on Sept. 22. He rejoined the team at practice for the first time since the injury on Friday and skated on a pair with Owen Power.

Read more in Friday’s practice report and check back following the 10 a.m. morning skate for additional lineup updates.

Storylines

1. Old faces, new places

Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway will both return to KeyBank Center for the first time since being dealt to the Blackhawks in June.

Byram and Greenway were both popular figures in the Buffalo dressing room.  Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen had expressed a desire to extend Byram at the end of last season but said Byram – one year away from free agency – informed the team he would not sign as he sought a role as a No. 1 defenseman.

“Obviously a really good friend and great teammates of ours and someone that we’re going to miss,” Thompson said when asked about Byram. “But when you’re on the ice, there’s no friends out there so it doesn’t really matter. If they’re not wearing a Sabres jersey, then they’re not part of our group. We can chat afterwards or prior, but during the whistle, that’s our team if you’re wearing a Sabres crest.”

It will also mark the first game against the Blackhawks for Louis Crevier, who came to Buffalo in the Byram deal. The 6-foot-8, right-shot defenseman impressed in camp and signed a four-year extension on Thursday.

2. Special teams

The Sabres will be looking to improve on their special teams, which may have been the difference in their loss in Columbus.

Buffalo went 0-for-5 on the power play and 1-for-3 on the penalty kill against the Blue Jackets.

The numbers on the power play don’t paint the entire picture – Konsta Helenius scored a goal seconds after one man advantage expired, and Jack Quinn sent a backhand shot off the post on another.

“We had our looks for sure,” Thompson said of the power play. “I would say capitalize on them would be the number one thing. … You look at the analytics, we had 12 grade-A chances on our power play, more than Columbus had. They just capitalized on them. So, it’s just putting them in the back of the net.”

3. Scouting the Blackhawks

The Blackhawks are off to an 0-2-0 start after lopsided losses in Vegas and Utah in which they were outscored 11-2.

Chicago is without star forward Connor Bedard, who is expected to miss at least the first month due to an offseason shoulder injury. Still, the Blackhawks boast a wide cast of young players who, like Bedard, were selected near the top of the draft in forwards Frank Nazar and Anton Frondell and defenseman Artyom Levshunov.

The Blackhawks supplemented that young core with the offseason acquisition of Byram and forward Patrick Kane, who returned to Chicago on a two-year deal in free agency. Kane has one of Chicago’s two goals scored thus far.