The Buffalo Sabres return to KeyBank Center on Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. game against the Ottawa Senators, carrying a three-game California sweep into their first meeting with the Atlantic Division rival this season.
Buffalo is 7-4-3 and sits two points behind Ottawa with two games in hand, according to the team's game preview. The teams will play four times during the regular season.
The Sabres trailed only once during the California trip. Even then, they erased an early 2-0 deficit in Anaheim before the first intermission, a turnaround that helped keep the road swing unbeaten.
Wednesday also marks the on-ice debut of Buffalo's Hometown Remix uniforms.
How to watch and who could play
MSG will televise the game in the Sabres' broadcast market, with pregame coverage beginning at 7 p.m. DAZN carries the stream in that market, and radio coverage is available on WGR 550 and through the Buffalo Sabres app.
Colten Ellis is expected to start in goal after going 2-0-0 in California. The team otherwise expects a lineup similar to the one that finished the trip, based on practice.
Zach Benson is available, coach Lindy Ruff said. Benson missed Monday's practice for maintenance before taking part fully Tuesday.
Conor Timmins and Jiri Kulich also are available to play Wednesday.
Benson has two goals and 10 assists over his last nine games, along with a plus-10 rating. His nine primary assists tie him for ninth in the NHL.
Thompson approaches another franchise milestone
Tage Thompson scored his 223rd Sabres goal Saturday to move into ninth on the franchise list. He is one goal behind eighth-place Miroslav Satan.
Thompson also ranks third in the NHL with 63 shots. That is the most by a Buffalo player through 14 games since Evander Kane had 69 in 2017.
Rasmus Dahlin has four assists in his last two games. Beck Malenstyn leads Buffalo with 52 hits, followed by Peyton Krebs with 30 and Dahlin with 18. Mattias Samuelsson leads the team with 24 blocked shots, ahead of Louis Crevier's 19 and Owen Power's 17.
Buffalo went 6-1-0 against Ottawa over the previous two seasons, outscoring the Senators 29-15. Jack Quinn scored five goals in those seven meetings.
Ottawa arrives after a difficult road stretch
The Senators opened 5-1-0 but have gone 4-5-1 since. Over the past 10 games, their power play has converted at 11%, their penalty kill has operated at 69% and their team save percentage has been .858.
Samuel Ersson and Jonas Johansson have shared the net while Linus Ullmark deals with a lower-body injury. Ersson has an .866 save percentage and Johansson an .848 mark. Ullmark, who is 7-1-0 with a .945 save percentage this season, has traveled with Ottawa but is not expected to play Wednesday.
Ottawa also is without forward William Eklund, an offseason trade acquisition who injured his ankle in his fourth game.
The Senators rallied from four goals down in the third period in Los Angeles before losing in overtime. In Anaheim, they surrendered an early 3-0 lead in a 6-3 loss.
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