Storylines
1. The lineup (updated 1:50 p.m.)
Jack Quinn will be back in the lineup after he was scratched in Columbus, Ruff announced. He skated this morning on a line with Dylan Cozens and Jiri Kulich.
Zach Benson did not take line rushes this morning but did skate with the second power-play unit. Ruff said the team will have multiple game-time decisions at forward, Benson included.
"In all likelihood, [Benson] will play, but we've got one other guy that's hurt, too," Ruff said. "We'll get through warmup and see if he can play.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is expected to start in goal. He's 2-0-0 with a .956 save percentage in two career starts against the Blackhawks.
2. Last time out
Ruff pointed to a slow start and mishandled puck management as the two deciding factors in the loss to the Blue Jackets on Thursday. The Sabres fell behind 2-0 in the first period and had their comeback attempts stifled by Blue Jackets goals scored off of turnovers.
The team surrendered a combined 24 high-danger scoring chances in Pittsburgh and Columbus after holding opponents to four in each of the previous two games (according to Natural Stat Trick).
“It's focusing on tiny little details, just not being careless,” Tuch said. “It's working hard for your full shift, not for 35 of the 45 seconds. It's making sure you bear down in certain areas, and we haven't had that consistency yet in the last couple of games.”
3. Scouting the Blackhawks
The Blackhawks continued to build around reigning Calder Trophy winner Connor Bedard this past offseason with a series of veteran forward additions headlined by Teuvo Teravainen and Tyler Bertuzzi.
Teravainen has helped fuel a hot start for the Chicago power play, with a team-high two goals and five points scored on the man advantage. The Blackhawks have gone 5-for-16 to open the season, including two power-play goals in their win over San Jose on Thursday.
Bertuzzi, Nick Foligno, and defenseman Seth Jones all have scored power-play goals in addition to Teravainen.
