The Buffalo Sabres are changing their look again on Friday, and Jiri Kulich is the main reason why. Buffalo hosts the Columbus Blue Jackets at KeyBank Center in a rematch of opening night, with Kulich expected back after missing five games and Conor Timmins set to make his season debut on defense.
The timing matters because this is not just another home date. The Sabres are coming off a loss to Ottawa that ended a three-game winning streak, while the Blue Jackets arrive with two straight wins after beating Colorado 7-2 and Dallas 2-1 in a shootout. Columbus also already owns the first meeting, a 6-3 win that came with Jet Greaves stopping 23 shots.
For Buffalo, the lineup change brings Ryan McLeod out of the picture for the night after he was scratched. Lindy Ruff met with him to talk through his recent play, and McLeod did not hide how it felt to sit. He called it frustrating to be out of the lineup, said he wanted to be helping his team, and described the night as a fresh start after getting back to basics. Ruff put the decision in simpler terms: it is less about one missed game than about what the next one looks like.
Kulich’s return gives the Sabres a cleaner forward group after he left the lineup when a puck to the face in practice sent him into concussion protocol. Timmins, meanwhile, slides in for Louis Crevier on the third pair, giving Buffalo a new look on the blue line at the same time it is trying to reset its forward mix. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is expected to start in net, so the Sabres will be leaning on a lineup that has changed in more than one place at once.
That is the part that makes Friday more interesting than a routine rematch. The Blue Jackets have allowed only three goals over their last two wins, and Stathletes credited that stretch with just two high-danger scoring chances against. Zach Werenski scored his first goal of the season in the Dallas win, Kent Johnson has 17 points, and he also scored the shootout winner. Buffalo has home ice and a fresh lineup, but Columbus has arrived with results and structure. Hockey Fights Cancer Night adds another layer to a game that already carries the feel of an early checkpoint. The Sabres do not need to solve everything in one night, but they do need this reworked group to look more stable than it did after Wednesday.
