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

Jiri Kulich’s return to the lineup will be among the storylines to watch as the Buffalo Sabres open their preseason schedule against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Monday.

The game will mark the start of an abbreviated, tightly compacted preseason slate for the Sabres. Buffalo will play four exhibitions – the maximum allowed under the new collective bargaining agreement – in a span of six days.

A shorter preseason leaves little time for depth players to make an impression. Tonight’s game will offer one such opportunity, with Buffalo icing a lineup consisting of prospects, players on two-way deals, and two forwards working their way back from long-term absences in Kulich and Justin Danforth.

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

How to watch

TV: MSG (Sportsnet Pittsburgh feed)

Radio: WGR 550 (Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray on the call)

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Tonight's roster

Forwards: Aidan McDonough, Conor Sheary, Jake Richard, Jason Polin, Jiri Kulich, Justin Danforth, Liam Valente, Matthew Peca, Riley Fiddler-Schultz, Thomas Bordeleau, Trevor Kuntar, Tyson Kozak

Defensemen: Dennis Gilbert, Ryan Johnson, Jack Rathbone, Zach Metsa, Radim Mrtka, Vsevolod Komarov

Goalies: Alex Lyon, Colten Ellis

Storylines to watch

1. Kulich, Danforth make preseason debuts

Kulich and Danforth were both on last year’s opening night lineup – Kulich as the team’s projected No. 1 center, Danforth having just signed a two-year contract to be an impact bottom-six player.

Both players saw their seasons end early. Danforth sustained a broken kneecap during the fourth game of the season; Kulich was diagnosed with a blood clot on Nov. 1.

• Read: Inside Kulich’s road to recovery

The Sabres will use camp to find out where both players, now healthy, fit into their organizational picture to begin this season. Kulich has practiced thus far on a line with Sam Carrick and Beck Malenstyn but has history playing a top-six role. Danforth, meanwhile, is one of several viable candidates for a bottom-six, penalty-killing role. That group also includes Tyson Kozak, who will be in Monday’s lineup.

2. Competition on defense

The Sabres enter the season with their top-six defensemen seemingly set: the returning quartet of Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson, Owen Power and Conor Timmins plus two newcomers in Olen Zellweger and Louis Crevier.

The depth behind that group of six will be highlighted in Pittsburgh. Zach Metsa and Dennis Gilbert open as the frontrunners for the role of seventh defenseman, having spent the start of training camp with the NHL practice group. Ryan Johnson has NHL experience and could factor into that conversation as well, while Radim Mrtka – Buffalo’s first-round pick in 2024 – is looking to make an impression as he begins his first professional season.

3. Pittsburgh’s roster

Bryan Rust and Krist Letang are among the NHL regulars included on Pittsburgh’s roster for the game, which features a mix of veterans and young players. View their full roster here.