Sabres at Red Wings | How to watch, lineup notes, and storylines

Konsta Helenius and Noah Ostlund will be in the lineup for the Buffalo Sabres’ preseason game against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday.

Helenius, Ostlund and Jiri Kulich are the only three skaters on Thursday’s roster who played in Tuesday’s home game, which the Sabres used as a dress rehearsal for their full NHL lineup.

The NHL’s new collective bargaining agreement restricts players with 100 or more career games played to a maximum of two preseason games. Helenius, Ostlund and Kulich all fall under that 100-game threshold, meaning they can play in Detroit and still play again in Saturday’s preseason finale.

The rest of Buffalo’s lineup features a mix of depth players and prospects, similar to the roster that played the preseason opener in Pittsburgh on Monday.

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

How to watch

TV: MSG (Detroit Sportsnet feed)

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

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Tonight's roster

Forwards: Thomas Bordeleau, Justin Danforth, Tyson Kozak, Jiri Kulich, Trevor Kuntar, Aidan McDonough, Noah Ostlund, Matthew Peca, Jason Polin, Jake Richard, Liam Valente

Defensemen: Dennis Gilbert, Ryan Johnson, Vsevolod Komarov, Gavin McCarthy, Zach Metsa, Radim Mrtka

Goaltenders: Colten Ellis, Alex Lyon

Storylines to watch

1. Opportunities on defense

The Sabres sustained two injuries to their defense corps during Tuesday’s preseason game, with Mattias Samuelsson now week to week with a lower-body injury and Olen Zellweger in concussion protocol.

With those absences comes an opportunity for some of the defensemen in tonight’s lineup to solidify a potential spot in the opening night lineup. Zach Metsa and Dennis Gilbert would figure to be the two frontrunners for the job, having both spent camp practicing with the NHL group. Metsa excelled in his role as Buffalo’s seventh defenseman last season and led the team in ice time during Monday’s preseason game.

Radim Mrtka and Ryan Johnson are two more names to watch. The two defensemen opened camp with the AHL practice group but joined the NHL squad on Wednesday with Samuelsson and Zellweger absent. Johnson has 47 NHL games on his resume; Mrtka is entering his first pro season after being drafted ninth overall in 2025.

2. Competition at forward

The Sabres have had 14 forwards in their NHL practice group throughout camp. Assuming they stick with three goalies to begin the regular season, they’ll likely only be able to carry 13 forwards on their 23-man roster for opening night.

Tyson Kozak and Justin Danforth – both in tonight’s lineup – have been the extra forwards at camp thus far. Kozak performed well in a fourth-line role with Buffalo last season; Danforth is healthy after missing most of 2025-26 with a broken kneecap.