Sabres at Hurricanes | How to watch, lineup notes, and storylines

Following a successful five-game homestand, the Buffalo Sabres now take to the road for five straight games beginning Monday afternoon against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Sabres are 8-1-0 in their last nine road games and 15-2-1 in their last 18 games overall. They’ll be tested against one of the NHL’s top home teams at Lenovo Center, where the Hurricanes boast an Eastern Conference-leading .721 points percentage since the start of the 2019-20 season.

Buffalo is looking to end a 12-game winless streak at Carolina (0-10-2) which dates back to 2016.

Konsta Helenius, the Sabres’ first-round pick in 2024, is expected to make his NHL debut. The gritty 19-year-old has been named an AHL All-Star this season with 30 points (9+21) in 34 games for the Amerks.

“He’s got some bite to his game,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “He’s not your prototypical ‘talented’ guy. He gets into people, and he’s got a little physicality to him at the same time.”

Read more about Helenius in Sunday’s practice report.

The puck drops at 1:30 p.m. Here’s what you need to know.

How to watch

TV (Buffalo broadcast market): TNT, truTV

Streaming: HBO Max

Radio: WWKB 1520 / Buffalo Sabres App

More ways to watch/listen to Sabres games

Lineup notes (updated 1:05 p.m.)

Helenius joins the lineup in the absence of Josh Norris, who was placed on injured reserve but could join the team later in this road trip.

“He could call us Tuesday, Wednesday, and say, ‘I’m doing pretty good here,’ join us for the tail end of this road trip,” Ruff said. “So, I wouldn’t rule him out for later in the week.”

The Sabres had positive news Sunday with the presence of goaltender Alex Lyon, who practiced with the team for the first time since he sustained a lower-body injury in St. Louis on Dec. 29. Lyon was activated off injured reserve, is backing up Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen on Monday and will play at some point this week.

Defenseman Michael Kesselring is out for load management purposes; he returned from injury Saturday, and the Sabres are playing a back-to-back Monday and Tuesday.

Here are the full lines from warmups:

Quick hits

• Alex Tuch (5+3) and Tage Thompson (5+8) are both riding seven-game point streaks.
• Josh Doan has 10 points (5+5) in the last nine games.
• The Sabres have gone 5-for-14 (35.7 percent) on the power play in the last three games.

Scouting the Hurricanes

Today marks the finale of the three-game season series between the Sabres and Hurricanes, with the home team having won each of the first two contests.

The Sabres were severely shorthanded in their first visit to Lenovo Center, a 6-3 loss on Nov. 8. They played that game without Rasmus Dahlin on the back end and Norris, Zach Benson and Jason Zucker among others missing at forward.

Buffalo won 4-1 at KeyBank Center on Nov. 23, fueled by 22 blocked shots, a 29-save performance by Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and Beck Malenstyn’s highlight-reel goal.

The Hurricanes have remained consistent in the interim, currently tied atop the Eastern Conference standings with 64 points. They play a high-pressure, high-volume game at 5-on-5; their plus-860 differential in shot attempts is more than 300 higher than second-place Colorado.

Brandon Bussi (17-3-1, .905 save percentage) is expected to start in goal for Carolina.