Florida will be without Tkachuk, Barkov, and Bobrovsky in their lineup
The Buffalo Sabres are in a precarious position just one week into the regular season, losing a pair of games to New Jersey at the Global Series in Czechia and a disappointing 3-1 loss to Los Angeles in the home opener on Thursday after dominating and having the majority of the scoring chances in the contest. Buffalo needs to take advantage of a depleted Florida Panthers squad at Key Bank Center on Saturday to get in the win column.
The match features the return of former Sabres and Sam Reinhart, Evan Rodrigues, and Dmitri Kulikov to Buffalo, but the Stanley Cup champions will not have team captain Aleksander Barkov and feisty winger Matthew Tkachuk in the lineup and will sit starting goalie Sergei Bobrovsky in favor of backup Spencer Knight.
Barkov suffered a lower-body injury late in Florida’s 3-1 loss to Ottawa on Thursday. Head coach Paul Maurice indicated that he will be out for two to three weeks, while Tkachuk will miss the contest due to an illness.
The Sabres will continue what appears to be an early-season goalie rotation, starting Devon Levi against the club that drafted him in 2020. Head coach Lindy Ruff said that winger J-J Peterka is still not ready to return from the concussion he suffered last week, but will likely return when the club starts their three-game road trip in Pittsburgh next Wednesday.
Ruff said that he was pleased with the club’s effort against the Kings, and would be happy with a similar one against the Panthers, but that Buffalo needs to convert on their chances after scoring only three goals in their three losses.
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