Sabres are hoping to bounce back from the season-opening loss to Columbus
Game 2 - 10/3/26 - 7:00 pm at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY
Buffalo – 0-1-0 | - 0 points – 7th place in the Atlantic Division
Chicago – 0-2-0 | - 0 points – 8th place in the Central Division
Special Teams
Buffalo
Power Play – 0.0% (19th)
Penalty Kill – 33.3% (30th)
Chicago
Power Play – 0.0% (21st)
Penalty Kill - 50.0% (28th)
Top Scorers
Buffalo
Noah Ostlund: 1 GP, 0 G, 2 A, 2 PTS
Owen Power: 1 GP, 0 G, 2 A, 2 PTS
Konsta Helenius: 1 GP, 1 G, 0 A, 1 PTS
Chicago
Patrick Kane: 2 GP, 1 G, 0 A, 1 PTS
Jordan Greenway: 2 GP, 1 G, 0 A, 1 PTS
Wyatt Kaiser: 2 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 1 PTS
Starting Goalies
Buffalo –Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (0-1-0, 5.07 GAA, .773 Sv %)
Chicago – Spencer Knight (0-1-0, 6.00 GAA, .813 Sv %)
Other Sabres Stories
Sabres Line Combinations and Pairings
Forwards
Josh Norris - Tage Thompson - Josh Doan
Zach Benson - Noah Ostlund - Jack Quinn
Peyton Krebs - Ryan McLeod - Konsta Helenius
Jiri Kulich - Sam Carrick - Beck Malenstyn
Defense
Mattias Samuelsson - Rasmus Dahlin
Owen Power - Olen Zellweger
Matt Grzelcyk - Zach Metsa/Louis Crevier
Goaltenders
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Colten Ellis
Notes
The Sabres are riding a six-game winning streak against the Blackhawks, the longest such streak in franchise history. • In that span, Buffalo has outscored Chicago 30-10. • Buffalo’s .657 all-time home points percentage against Chicago is its fourth-highest against any current NHL opponent, trailing only San Jose (.833), Vegas (.813) and Toronto (.676).
In his last 10 games against Chicago, Rasmus Dahlin has registered 12 points (2+10), including two assists in each of his last three matchups with the Blackhawks. Dahlin is one of 11 defensemen in NHL history to record multiple assists in at least three consecutive games against Chicago. A multi-assist performance tonight would make him just the second defenseman to extend such a streak to four or more games against the Blackhawks, joining Zach Werenski (six games). Dahlin’s active three-game multi-assist streak against Chicago is tied with Pat LaFontaine (Oct. 21, 1992 to Oct. 29, 1995) for the longest by a Sabres skater against the Blackhawks all-time. A multi-assist performance tonight would give Dahlin sole possession of the franchise record.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is 6-0-0 in six career games against Chicago and he has recorded a .928 save percentage and a 1.67 goals-against average in that span. • A win tonight would make Luukkonen the second goaltender in NHL history to earn a win in each of their first seven games against the Blackhawks (Andrei Vasilevskiy; Jan. 24, 2017 to March 4, 2021).
Ryan McLeod has tallied at least one point in every game he has played against the Blackhawks as a member of the Sabres and he is riding a four-game point streak against Chicago (3+2). A point tonight would make McLeod the first skater in Sabres history to record at least one point in each of his first five games against the Blackhawks as a member of the Sabres. With a point tonight, McLeod would also become the first Sabres skater since Victor Olofsson (5+1) from Nov. 17, 2019 to Jan. 17, 2023 to record at least six points in his first five games against Chicago with Buffalo.
Tage Thompson is riding a four-game point streak against Chicago and he has posted seven points (4+3) in that span. Thompson recorded two goals, including the game-winning tally, in the last matchup between the Sabres and the Blackhawks on April 13, 2026. In his last 11 games against Chicago, Thompson has posted 15 points (9+6).
Konsta Helenius scored his first goal of the season on Oct. 1 at Columbus and a goal tonight would make him the first Sabres rookie to record a goal in their first two games of a season since Maxim Afinogenov from Nov. 10 to 12, 1999. • Dave Andreychuk (Oct. 6 to 9, 1982) is the only other Sabres rookie to do so.
Jack Quinn has registered at least one point in three consecutive home games against Chicago (2+3), including two points in each of his last two.
Josh Doan has posted three points (2+1) in his last two games against the Blackhawks and a point tonight would give him a three-game point streak against Chicago. In his last two meetings with the Blackhawks, Josh Norris has posted three points (2+1).
Injuries
Alex Lyon (upper body)
Conor Timmins (lower body; injured reserve)
Jason Zucker (sports hernia; injured reserve)
Topias Leinonen (lower body; injured reserve)
Jack Rathbone (lower body; injured reserve)
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