Purchase tickets via Ticketmaster<\/a><\/p>\nBuffalo Sabres News & Notes<\/p>\n
Buffalo\u2019s early-season struggles carried into a loss to the Washington Capitals, with the message afterward that the group has \u201cgot to remember it\u2019s 60 minutes.\u201d The Sabres have acknowledged their defensive game must improve, and they continue searching for a breakdown-free effort heading into a matchup with the San Jose Sharks. Goaltending has not been the lone issue. Forward Josh Doan said the team owes Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen \u201ca huge apology,\u201d and Luukkonen, while thankful for the support, said, \u201cin the end, we\u2019re in it as a team.\u201d <\/p>\n
The long-running pursuit of Connor Hellebuyck ended without a deal, with the goaltender going from Winnipeg to New Jersey. Elliotte Friedman reported that Buffalo knew it was out of the running before the trade was completed. General manager Jarmo Kekalainen has said Luukkonen will be a \u201cbig part\u201d of the team\u2019s future. Attention has since turned to Dylan Larkin, though reporting indicates the Detroit captain will not consider Buffalo, with another Atlantic Division club entering the picture.<\/p>\n
San Jose Sharks News & Notes<\/p>\n
Forward Igor Chernyshov left San Jose\u2019s game against Ottawa with an injury and has since been labeled week-to-week, removing him from a top-six role. Alexander Wennberg is also unavailable as the club moves into a four-game homestand. Adam Gaudette made his season debut when the Sharks visited Boston on Saturday, stepping into a lineup that needed bodies up front. With Chernyshov out, Collin Graf was initially promoted to skate alongside Macklin Celebrini on the top line. <\/p>\n
The forward group has been reshuffled again since then. Rookie Ivar Stenberg has been bumped to the top line with Celebrini and Will Smith, part of a broader set of changes that also touched the defense pairs. In goal, Alex Nedeljkovic\u2019s early work has been enough to give him the crease until further notice, pushing him ahead of Yaroslav Askarov in the rotation as San Jose returns home. <\/p>\n
Buffalo Sabres Projected Lines<\/p>\n
Line 1: Zach Benson \u2013 Tage Thompson \u2013 Konsta Helenius<\/p>\n
Line 2: Josh Doan \u2013 Noah Ostlund \u2013 Jack Quinn<\/p>\n
Line 3: Jason Zucker \u2013 Josh Norris \u2013 Ryan McLeod<\/p>\n
Line 4: Peyton Krebs \u2013 Tyson Kozak \u2013 Beck Malenstyn<\/p>\n
Pair 1: Rasmus Dahlin \u2013 Mattias Samuelsson<\/p>\n
Pair 2: Olen Zellweger \u2013 Owen Power<\/p>\n
Pair 3: Zach Metsa \u2013 Louis Crevier<\/p>\n
Goaltenders: Colten Ellis \u2013 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen<\/p>\n
Buffalo Sabres Special Teams<\/p>\n
Power play, First unit: Jack Quinn \u2013 Zach Benson \u2013 Noah Ostlund \u2013 Tage Thompson \u2013 Rasmus Dahlin<\/p>\n
Power play, Second unit: Jason Zucker \u2013 Ryan McLeod \u2013 Josh Doan \u2013 Owen Power \u2013 Josh Norris<\/p>\n
Penalty kill, First unit: Ryan McLeod \u2013 Zach Benson \u2013 Mattias Samuelsson \u2013 Owen Power<\/p>\n
Penalty kill, Second unit: Josh Norris \u2013 Beck Malenstyn \u2013 Zach Metsa \u2013 Olen Zellweger<\/p>\n
San Jose Sharks Projected Lines<\/p>\n
Line 1: Ivar Stenberg \u2013 Macklin Celebrini \u2013 Will Smith<\/p>\n
Line 2: Mason Marchment \u2013 Michael Misa \u2013 Collin Graf<\/p>\n
Line 3: Kiefer Sherwood \u2013 Ty Dellandrea \u2013 Tyler Toffoli<\/p>\n
Line 4: Barclay Goodrow \u2013 Zack Ostapchuk \u2013 Adam Gaudette<\/p>\n
Pair 1: Darnell Nurse \u2013 Jacob Trouba<\/p>\n
Pair 2: Sam Dickinson \u2013 Michael Kesselring<\/p>\n
Pair 3: Nolan Allan \u2013 Dmitry Orlov<\/p>\n
Goaltenders: Yaroslav Askarov \u2013 Alex Nedeljkovic<\/p>\n
San Jose Sharks Special Teams<\/p>\n
Power play, First unit: Mason Marchment \u2013 Will Smith \u2013 Macklin Celebrini \u2013 Ivar Stenberg \u2013 Dmitry Orlov<\/p>\n
Power play, Second unit: Kiefer Sherwood \u2013 Michael Misa \u2013 Tyler Toffoli \u2013 Adam Gaudette \u2013 Jacob Trouba<\/p>\n
Penalty kill, First unit: Zack Ostapchuk \u2013 Barclay Goodrow \u2013 Sam Dickinson \u2013 Jacob Trouba<\/p>\n
Penalty kill, Second unit: Ty Dellandrea \u2013 Collin Graf \u2013 Darnell Nurse \u2013 Michael Kesselring<\/p>\n
Players To Watch<\/p>\n
Zach Benson \u2014 Buffalo Sabres<\/p>\n
Benson owns the best possession numbers on the roster, per Box Score Junkie\u2019s 2026-27 figures: 62.9% Corsi-for, 68.0 shot attempts for per 60 and 8.0 high-danger expected goals generated with him on the ice. The finishing hasn\u2019t followed \u2014 zero goals on 4.8 individual xG. He assisted in his last game. That gap should close.<\/p>\n
Will Smith \u2014 San Jose Sharks<\/p>\n
Smith scored on five shots last time out and has driven play all season. Box Score Junkie\u2019s 2026-27 numbers have him at 54.4% Corsi-for and 55.7% Fenwick, with 61.3 shot attempts for per 60. Four goals on 4.4 expected goals says the production is earned, not luck. A reasonable shots-on-goal play.<\/p>\n
Injury Report<\/p>\n
Buffalo Sabres<\/p>\n
Jiri Kulich (C) \u2014 Out, Concussion, expected back Wednesday, November 4<\/p>\n
Justin Danforth (RW) \u2014 Day-To-Day, Upper Body, expected back Tuesday, October 27<\/p>\n
Sam Carrick (C) \u2014 Injured Reserve, Upper Body, expected back Tuesday, October 27<\/p>\n
Alex Lyon (G) \u2014 Injured Reserve, Upper Body, expected back Saturday, October 31<\/p>\n
Matt Grzelcyk (D) \u2014 Injured Reserve, Lower Body, expected back Tuesday, October 27<\/p>\n
Conor Timmins (D) \u2014 Injured Reserve, Lower Body, expected back Friday, November 6<\/p>\n
Jack Rathbone (D) \u2014 Injured Reserve, Undisclosed, expected back Sunday, November 8<\/p>\n
San Jose Sharks<\/p>\n
Igor Chernyshov (LW) \u2014 Out, Upper Body, expected back Saturday, November 14<\/p>\n
Alexander Wennberg (C) \u2014 Out, Upper Body, expected back Monday, November 9<\/p>\n
Quentin Musty (LW) \u2014 Injured Reserve, Upper Body, expected back Tuesday, December 1<\/p>\n
Kyle Keyser (G) \u2014 Injured Reserve, Upper Body, expected back Tuesday, December 1<\/p>\n
Betting Odds<\/p>\n
Moneyline (DraftKings, as of October 27 at 4:22\u202fAM ET): Buffalo Sabres -142, San Jose Sharks +120.<\/p>\n
Odds change through the day; check the sportsbook before betting. 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.<\/p>\n
Next Up<\/p>\n
Buffalo Sabres: visit the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, October 29.<\/p>\n
San Jose Sharks: host the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday, October 29.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Inside The Rink Gameday Graphic The Buffalo Sabres visit the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center at San…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":509443,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[188834,4214,4215,2094,2064,401,3517,2098,75543,67387,2101,1035,404,16029,88,90,89,98,188837,62463,3578,3516,196489],"class_list":["post-509442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-2026-27-nhl-regular-season","tag-adam-gaudette","tag-alex-nedeljkovic","tag-alexander-wennberg","tag-buffalo-sabres","tag-hockey","tag-igor-chernyshov","tag-injury-report","tag-ivar-stenberg","tag-josh-doan","tag-line-combinations","tag-macklin-celebrini","tag-nhl","tag-nhl-game-preview","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-san-jose-sharks","tag-sap-center-at-san-jose","tag-ukko-pekka-luukkonen","tag-will-smith","tag-yaroslav-askarov","tag-zach-benson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=509442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/509443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=509442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=509442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=509442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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