Sabres at Capitals | Storylines, rosters, and how to watch Buffalo's preseason opener

Don Granato outlined Sunday as the start of a second phase of training camp for the Buffalo Sabres, following two days of practice sessions and an intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday.

The Sabres open their preseason schedule against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena, kicking off a run of five games in seven days. The stretch will serve as an evaluation opportunity for Granato and his staff, with 62 players currently on the camp roster.

“I think this next phase is to try to get as many younger players and guys that we need further looks at in the lineup,” Granato said.

The game between Sabres and Capitals can be streamed live on Sabres.com with puck drop scheduled for 2 p.m. Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray will have the radio call on WBEN 930AM.

Here are five things to know about Sunday’s game.

1. The lineup

The Sabres will travel the following players for Sunday’s game, many of whom are looking to make the jump to the NHL this season after successful campaigns with Rochester in 2022-23.

Forwards (13): Zach Benson, Brandon Biro, Filip Cederqvist, Jordan Greenway, Tyson Jost, Tyson Kozak, Peyton Krebs, Jiri Kulich, JJ Peterka, Isak Rosen, Lukas Rousek, Graham Slaggert, Linus Weissbach

Defensemen (7): Jacob Bryson, Kale Clague, Jeremy Davies, Ryan Johnson, Zach Metsa, Nikita Novikov, Riley Stillman

Goaltenders (3): Eric Comrie, Michael Houser, Dustin Tokarski

2. In the crease

Granato did not explicitly announce Comrie as the starter but said the plan is for Comrie, Devon Levi, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to each start a game this week. He said he expects the starters to play two periods before giving way to a backup for the third.

3. Phase 2 for Kulich, Rosen

Jiri Kulich and Isak Rosen – both first-round picks who showed tangible growth during their rookie campaigns in Rochester last season – have enjoyed promising starts to camp. Both were productive offensively in their two games at the Prospects Challenge and spent the opening practices of main camp on lines with NHL veterans (Kulich with Casey Mittelstadt, Rosen with Dylan Cozens). Kulich added a highlight-reel goal in Saturday’s intrasquad scrimmage.

Sunday marks another chance for both forwards to show their growth, this time against NHL competition.

“At this point, they’ve all looked good,” Granato said.

4. Debuts for Benson, Johnson

Sunday will mark the NHL preseason debuts for two other first-round picks in forward Zach Benson and defenseman Ryan Johnson.

Benson, the 13th-overall pick this summer, opened camp on a line with Jeff Skinner and Tage Thompson. His performance alongside those veterans at Saturday’s scrimmage impressed Granato, who pointed to a small play as an example.

“You can just see how he processes,” Granato said. “And a visual for everyone is the ice gets bad and there’s a pass to him on an entry and a defenseman coming at him and the puck bounces off the ice, he’s got to take it in his feet with a guy coming at him, yet it didn’t cause stress.

“He was able to handle it skill wise, knowing where Thompson and Skinner were headed and whether which one of those two was open or not open and make a play. So, that situation normally makes a guy anxious. It didn’t make him anxious because he has a feel for the game and skill to match it.”

Johnson is participating in his first training camp following a four-year career at the University of Minnesota.

5. Scouting the Capitals

Washington will also dress a young roster featuring several players who played for the Hershey Bears in their AHL Eastern Conference Final series against Kulich, Rosen, Lukas Rousek, Linus Weissbach, and others who were members of the Amerks last spring.

Here’s the Capitals roster for Sunday: