Game Preview | 5 things to know ahead of Sabres vs. Lightning

UPDATE (11:05 a.m.) -Rasmus Dahlin will be in the lineup after missing the last three games with a lower-body injury, Don Granato announced.
Jordan Greenway will not play. His flight was rerouted due to weather and he did not join the team in time for the game, Granato said.
The kids are in charge today as the Buffalo Sabres take on the Tampa Bay Lightning this afternoon at KeyBank Center.
It's Kids Takeover Day and a few lucky Sabres fans will take on some big roles, including Jr. PA Announcer, Jr. Social Media Editor, Jr. Reporter and Jr. Arena Host. Faceoff is at 12:30 p.m. on MSG and WGR 550 with pregame coverage on MSG starting at noon. Tickets are on sale now.
The first 5,000 kids in attendance will receive a Tage Thompson growth chart.
As a reminder, this game was originally scheduled to be played on December 23. Fans can use their tickets from December for entry to today's game. It's also a third jersey game. The Sabres are 7-1-0 this year when wearing their black and red uniforms.
Here are five things to know ahead of the game:

General manager Kevyn Adams made three trades yesterday before the Trade Deadline passed at 3 p.m.
The biggest move was acquiring Jordan Greenway from Minnesota. The 6-foot-6, 231-pound forward has seven points in 45 games with two seasons left on his contract.
"There's certain players that when they're on the ice, everyone's aware and I put Jordan in that category," Adams said. "He can skate and he can make plays, but he's got the presence physically that people are aware when he's on the ice.
"Now, what we're building towards, and you've heard me talk a lot about this, is setting this franchise up for sustainable success. And ultimately, when we get in the playoffs, whether that's this year, or in the coming years, a player like that … they become valuable."
Tweet from @BuffaloSabres: Jordan Greenway is a Buffalo Sabre 🙌More to come in Embedded! pic.twitter.com/x8CwSLofnP
Adams also acquired defenseman Austin Strand from Anaheim for Chase Priskie. Strand has been assigned to Rochester. And forward Rasmus Asplund will have an opportunity to get more ice time in Nashville after he was traded away for a seventh-round pick in 2025.
Check out more takeaways from Deadline Day here.

Rasmus Dahlin has missed the past three games with a lower-body injury, but after practicing with the team on Friday, there's a chance he could suit up against the Lightning.
"He had a really good skate yesterday," Granato said after practice. "He stayed back with our medical guys that are here. …That was really positive. That was his first time back on the ice and it was as positive as could be."
Riley Stillman made his Sabres debut on Thursday and skated on a pair with Mattias Samuelsson in Dahlin's absence. Buffalo picked up Stillman in a trade with Vancouver last week.
Click here for line combinations and other news from practice.
This is the fourth and final meeting between the Sabres and Lightning this season. Buffalo defeated Tampa Bay 6-5 in overtime on the road back on February 23. A win today would give the Sabres consecutive wins over the Lightning for the first time since they earned victories on February 13, 2018 (5-3) and February 28, 2018 (2-1).
The Sabres are 2-7-1 in their last 10 games against the Lightning; 3-5-2 at home.
This is the 113th game all-time between Buffalo and Tampa Bay; Buffalo has a 57-45-10 series record. The Sabres are 27-22-6 at home against the Lightning all-time.
Thompson has notched 10 points (6+4) in his last eight games against Tampa Bay, including six points (4+2) in three games against the Lightning this season.
In addition to Thompson, Zemgus Girgensons (2+1) and Jeff Skinner (2+2) each have a point in all three games against Tampa Bay this season.
Here are the Wild Card standings heading into today's slate of games. All teams in the hunt for the final two playoff spots were idle last night.
| Team | GP | Points | P% | Reg. W | ROW | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | WC1 - Pittsburgh Penguins | 61 | 71 | .582 | 24 | 30 | | WC2 - New York Islanders | 64 | 70 | .547 | 27 | 31 | | Buffalo Sabres | 60 | 66 | .550 | 23 | 30 | | Ottawa Senators | 61 | 66 | .541 | 24 | 29 | | Florida Panthers | 63 | 66 | .524 | 26 | 28 | | Washington Capitals | 63 | 66 | .524 | 23 | 29 | | Detroit Red Wings | 61 | 65 | .533 | 22 | 26 |
Games of note today include:
A win today would also match Buffalo's win total from 2021-22.
Following today's the game, the Sabres will play back-to-back games on Monday and Tuesday.
They'll host the Edmonton Oilers on Monday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale now. Then after the game, they'll fly East to face the Islanders at UBS Arena at 7:30.
Both games will stream on ESPN+ and Hulu.