Sabres news: Sabres open up preseason play tonight

The Buffalo Sabres will take on the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight at 7 pm in Columbus. This is the first of six preseason games for the Sabres before the beginning of the regular season starts on October 14th against the Montreal Canadiens.

Tonight’s preseason matchup will be streamed on the Sabres website. But, unfortunately, this is the only place that fans will be able to watch the game. There does not seem to be a TV schedule for preseason games, so fans may be out of luck if they want to get their fix of Sabres hockey in before the regular season begins.

Aaron Dell will make his debut for Buffalo tonight as he and Dustin Tokarski are set to split the goalie duties in Columbus later today. This may point to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Craig Anderson splitting the goaltender role for the Sabres next preseason game, which is in Detroit against the Red Wings this Thursday at 7:30 pm.

There are a few recognizable names that will be taking the ice tonight for Buffalo. A couple of the bigger names on the team that will be playing tonight are Dylan Cozens and Zemgus Girgensons. But the projected lines include mostly prospects, which is what was expected. There are many roster spots up for grabs with a team that is as young as Buffalo is.

As the preseason rolls along, there will be more recognizable names partaking in games. But right now, Kevyn Adams and Don Granato need to see what they have in some of their prospects to evaluate them the best they can. Expect to hear the names JJ Peterka and Jack Quinn called a lot tonight if you decide to tune in online.

Preseason games go a long way to helping form the opening night roster. And for a team like Buffalo, preseason is very important. A rebuilding team gets a chance to see what their young core of players can do against a different team.