The Buffalo Sabres are looking to get back on track after a disappointing performance against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday afternoon. They will be taking on a Tampa Bay Lightning team, one that they were competing with down the stretch last season for the Atlantic Division.
These two teams had some of the best games of the season, including the 8-7 thriller where the Sabres came back from two goals down in the third to win in regulation.
It is still early in this season, but the Sabres are going to have some work to do if they want to get back into that discussion. However, this will be a good test before they head out on a six-game road trip over 10 days. These are some storylines heading into the game on Wednesday night.
Buffalo Sabres look to reverse their home ice struggles
Typically, it is an advantage for teams to play in front of their home crowd, but for the Buffalo Sabres, that hasn't been the case this season. Right now, they have a 4-5 record at KeyBank Center and in three of their last four games, they have scored only one goal in each game.
During the regular season last year, the Sabres were tough to beat and had a 26-10-5 record but didn't have the same success in the playoffs, winning only two of seven home playoff games.
The good news for the Sabres is that as bad as they have been at home, they have been equally as good on the road with a 4-1-3 record. However, if they can get better in front of the home fans, they can get right back in this division race.
Buffalo Sabres appear set to debut new lines against the Lightning
According to Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic, the Buffalo Sabres had some new lines during practice on Tuesday. While this isn't a guarantee, it typically hints at the potential of new lines for their next game.
How the Sabres lines look at practice
— Matthew Fairburn (@MatthewFairburn) November 10, 2026
Krebs-Norris-Thompson
Benson-Ostlund-Quinn
Zucker-McLeod-Doan
Malenstyn-Kozak-Carrick
Kulich is an extra.
There are a few notable changes with these lines, starting with the fact that Josh Norris is on the top line next to Tage Thompson. This is certainly a surprise as Norris has struggled this season, outside of a two-goal performance against the Blue Jackets. The idea might be that playing on a line with Thompson can help him bounce back and get back on track.
The Sabres also moved Zach Benson onto a line with Noah Ostlund and Jack Quinn. These three have easily been their best forward line earlier this season, but the Sabres split them up during their last road trip to get some balance for their Top 6.
On the third line, the Sabres have Ryan McLeod set to return after being a healthy scratch for the past two games. However, McLeod's return means that someone had to come out, and surprisingly, that was Jiri Kulich.
There is no question that Kulich hasn't played well to begin the season, but he missed almost the entire season last year. The best thing for him is to skate in games, and if the Sabres don't believe he can help them in Buffalo, he should get time in Rochester to get back up to speed.
Tampa Bay Lightning will be without Brayden Point
The Tampa Bay Lightning will be entering this game short-handed as Brayden Point will miss some time due to an injury. He was coming off a down season by his standards, with only 50 points in 63 games last season. However, he had been playing better as of late this season, with 10 points in the last eight games.
To replace Point, the Lightning called up Sam O'Reilly, who will make his NHL debut if he is in the lineup against Buffalo. In 12 games this season in the AHL, O'Reilly has two goals and two assists.
Battle between two subpar special teams
The Buffalo Sabres' struggles on the power play and penalty kill are well-documented, and entering the game against the Lightning, they are 30th in power play (14.3%) and 26th in penalty kill (71.2%). However, the Lightning are not much better this season, as they are 22nd in power play (19.4%) and 24th in penalty kill (72.9%).
For the Lightning, their penalty kill has struggled even more recently as they have given up five power play goals on 13 power play opportunities in the last four games. However, they also have been better when on the power play as they have with five power play goals on 16 power-play opportunities.
As for the Sabres, they are coming off a game where they had zero power-play goals in nine power-play chances over the past three games. In the game against the Vegas Golden Knights, the Sabres' inability on the power play in the second period swung momentum towards the Golden Knight and couldn't get back in the game.
If the Buffalo Sabres hope to get the win, they are going to have to play better than they have. However, last season the Sabres seemingly played their best against the Lightning and they will be looking for that trend to continue this season.
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