Sabres vs. Flames | How to watch, lineup notes, and storylines

The Buffalo Sabres will look for their third straight win when they host the Calgary Flames on Wednesday at KeyBank Center.

It will be the second game of a four-game homestand for the Sabres, which opened Monday with a 5-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers. Noah Ostlund scored two goals in that game while the Sabres’ tight defense held Connor McDavid without a point.

• How the Sabres limited McDavid and Draisaitl

The Flames come to town less than 24 hours removed from a 5-2 loss in Chicago on Tuesday. They sit in last place in the NHL standings with 13 points, including a 2-9-1 record on the road.

The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. Here’s what you need to know.

How to watch

TV (Buffalo broadcast market): MSG (Pregame coverage begins at 7 p.m.)

Streaming: Gotham Sports App, ESPN+ (out of market)

Radio: WGR 550 / Buffalo Sabres App

More ways to watch/listen to Sabres games

Lineup notes (updated 7:05 p.m.)

The Sabres practiced Tuesday with the same lines from the win over Edmonton – save for the absence of Mattias Samuelsson and Jordan Greenway, who were given a maintenance day. They both participated in Wednesday's optional morning skate and are expected to play against the Flames.

Colten Ellis will make his third straight start after a 32-save win versus Edmonton.

Here's the full projected lineup from warmups. The only change from Monday is Alex Lyon as the backup, not Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

Tage heats up at center

Tage Thompson has five points in the last three games, including a goal in each contest. That productivity has coincided with a return to the center position on a line with Josh Doan and Alex Tuch.

Thompson said he’s felt a better ability to control the pace of the game with the puck on his stick from the center position, which he played primarily from 2021-22 to 2023-24.

Last season, the inverse move – going from center to the wing – sparked a 44-goal campaign from Thompson.

“Last year, his points per game were better (on the wing), so it kind of leaned toward having him over there,” Ruff said. “Right now, it leans toward leaving him right in the middle. He’s playing well, skating well. It’s a great situation to be in.”

Scouting the Flames

Calgary could have a new face in its lineup in Elmira, NY, native John Beecher, whom it claimed off waivers from Boston on Tuesday. Beecher, a first-round draft pick in 2019, has 11 goals in 136 career NHL games.

Beecher joins a Flames team that has struggled out of the gate, particularly on offense. They rank last in the NHL in goals scored despite positive even-strength numbers; their expected goals-for percentage at 5-on-5 (which is calculated based on the quality of chances for and against) actually ranks sixth in the NHL at 54.28 percent.

Despite the abundance of even-strength chances, the Flames have the NHL’s lowest shooting percentage (7.12 percent, according to Money Puck) and the league’s least successful power play (12.7 percent).

With Dustin Wolf having started in Chicago on Tuesday, look for Devin Cooley – a member of the Sabres organization in 2023-24 – to get the start in net tonight. Cooley has been a bright spot for the Flames to start the season with a .935 save percentage in five games.