The Buffalo Sabres were hit with a string of bad luck throughout the preseason, as it felt like every game there were multiple players who were leaving due to injuries. With all things considered, the Sabres seem to be in a pretty good spot going into their season opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets and are getting an idea of what the lines might look like.
During Wednesday's practice, the Sabres' forward lines included Josh Norris, Tage Thompson, and Josh Doan as their top line. The second line was Peyton Krebs, Ryan McLeod, and Konsta Helenius, with the third line being Zach Benson, Noah Ostlund, and Jack Quinn. The final line had Jiri Kulich, Sam Carrick, and Beck Malenstyn, with Tyson Kozak and Justin Danforth rotating in.
Lines from #Sabres practice — defensive pairs have been constantly shuffling today:
— Rachel Lenzi 💁🏻♀️😎💥 (@rachelmlenzi) September 30, 2026
Norris-Thompson-Doan
Benson-Ostlund-Quinn
Krebs-McLeod-Helenius
Kulich-Carrick-Malenstyn.
These lines are a little surprising since there really wasn't a point in the preseason when the Sabres had this combination for their top line. For example, Tage Thompson, in his first preseason game, played with Krebs and Doan, but in his second preseason game split time between a line with Krebs and Doan and a line with Benson and Ostlund.
If the Sabres use the lines from Wednesday's practice, this will be the first time this season he has played with Norris. Last season, Norris began the year on Thompson's line but he was at center and Thompson was on the wing. That line didn't last long due to Norris suffering an injury in the first game of the 2025-26 season.
One other thing that stands out with these lines is that three of the four have two players who have spent a lot of time at center. This gives the coaching staff some flexibility in the faceoff circle and play matchups, which should help a team that struggled on the faceoff last season.
Buffalo Sabres still have some questions on the blueline entering this game
The other positive from Wednesday's practice was that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was on the ice and looks to be in line to start after leaving the final preseason game in the third period. Unfortunately, the Sabres still have some questions about the players in front of Luukkonen.
Unfortunately, the Sabres already know they will be without Olen Zellweger, who did not clear concussion protocol in time to play on Thursday against the Blue Jackets. In addition to that, Connor Timmins is on injured reserve and won't be available.
That means they have six defensemen potentially available for this game but need to make a roster move if Mattias Samuelsson is not able to play. According to Paul Hamilton, Lindy Ruff said that Samuelsson looked good in practice, but they need to see how he feels tomorrow, and it will mostly come down to pain management.
Ruff said Zellweger is still feeling good, but he hasn't passed his baseline testing yet. Samuelsson said practice went well. He said he wants to see how the flight goes and they'll decide tomorrow. It is pain management. He was full go in practice.
— Paul Hamilton (@pham1717) September 30, 2026
If Samuelsson is able to play, it will be a big boost for this defense because he will return to the top pair next to Rasmus Dahlin, with Owen Power paired with Louis Crevier and then a third pair consisting of Matt Grzelcyk and Zach Metsa.
While those are the expected lines, it seems the coaching staff was preparing for all options as Rachel Lenzi noted they were shuffling the pairs for most of practice on Wednesday.
If Samuelsson is unable to go, the Sabres would need to make some roster moves so fans should get an indication pretty early on Thursday what the blueline might look like in their first game of the season.
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