Scenarios
1. A tale of two teams
The Sabres will split their 57-man training camp roster into two teams, with one group of players traveling overseas to begin the NHL Global Series later this week in Munich, Germany, while the other half of the roster will remain in North America. North American Sabres The Cardinals will play three road games over the next five nights, starting with Pittsburgh tonight. The team will then face Ottawa (Thursday) and Columbus (Saturday) to close out the week.
Among those remaining in the United States are Konsta Helenius, Isak Rosen, Noah Ostlund and Ryan Johnson, four first-round draft picks who are all looking to make their preseason debuts on Tuesday.
Buffalo will have a large portion of its AHL affiliate in attendance for tonight’s game, with 16 players traveling with that group having been on the Rochester Americans roster last season, including Rosen and Mason Jobst, who co-led Rochester in scoring with 50-point campaigns in 2023-24.
“It’s an incredible opportunity,” Americans head coach Michael Leone said of having AHL players participate in NHL preseason games. “Having the experience of playing in NHL games is huge. There’s probably some nerves, but you just have to go out there and play your game. There’s a lot of guys we’ve seen in rookie camp games, so it should be good preparation for those games. The biggest thing is we just want to be competitive. We want to play to our standards and make sure everybody plays the right way.”
2. In the aim
The Sabres will have to choose between prospect Scott Ratzlaff or veteran Michael Houser to fill the goaltending role in Pittsburgh. Ratzlaff is coming off his third full season with Seattle of the Western Hockey League (WHL). He finished fifth in games played (52) last season and was one of 17 WHL goaltenders to reach the 20-win plateau this year. He has been around throughout the offseason, participating in the Sabres’ development camp as well as the Prospects Challenge.
Houser, 32, is entering his seventh season in the Sabres’ pipeline after signing an AHL contract in the offseason. He is 4-2 in six NHL regular-season starts from 2020-22, including two appearances against Pittsburgh in May 2021. The Youngstown, Ohio, native has 195 career wins in the ECHL, AHL and NHL.
“People want him (Houser) to be there,” Leone said. “Every time I talk about him, people know he’s a good goalie, but they say he’s the best guy and someone you need around you. That’s one of the main reasons he’s earned every opportunity he’s gotten. He’s a talented goalie, but he’s also an incredible teammate and person.”
3. An overview of the pens
Jesse Puljujarvi scored a hat trick for Pittsburgh on Saturday in a 7-3 loss to the Sabres, but the Penguins have been inactive since traveling to KeyBank Center. Pittsburgh’s preseason start looks much lighter than Buffalo’s, with the team playing just three games in the first eight days of exhibition play.
Prior to the preseason, the Penguins spent a weekend in Buffalo as part of the 2024 NHL Prospects Challenge, where they went 3-0, including an 8-5 win over the Sabres. In that game, Avery Hayes had a hat trick and recorded five points (3+2). He is expected to be part of Pittsburgh’s lineup, which will feature a mix of rookies and established NHL talent up front, including Kevin Hayes, Cody Glass, Anthony Beauvillier and Noel Acciari.
