Sabres Week Ahead: Schedule & Storylines — Defense Issues, Lindy Ruff Calls Out Players & More

Here are the Buffalo Sabres news, rumors and latest updates for the week of Oct. 12 – Oct. 18, 2026.

Defense/Goaltending Need to Be Better

The Sabres have dropped two straight games, a 4–0 loss to the Dallas Stars and a 4–1 defeat to the Utah Mammoth. In Thursday’s matchup against Dallas, Ukko‑Pekka Luukkonen struggled again. Two of the four goals were on him, while the other two came from complete defensive breakdowns in front of the net. He finished the night allowing four goals on 21 shots, and through his first three starts of the season, his save percentage sits below .800. That’s simply not good enough for a team trying to stay competitive early in the season.

As for Colten Ellis, he actually put together a solid performance in the Sabres’ 4–1 loss to the Mammoth. His goals saved above expected sat at zero, and from watching the game, none of the four goals felt like they were on him. The first was a backdoor tap‑in, the second was an easy power‑play finish for Nick Schmaltz, the third came from a complete defensive breakdown that left Anders Lee untouched in front, and the fourth was a point shot from John Marino on the power play. Ellis did what he could; the players in front of him didn’t give him much support.

Eight goals allowed over the last two games is inexcusable. It’s not just the goaltending; it’s the defensive play in front of them, allowing opponents to score without having to work particularly hard. It’s only five games into the season, but this trend needs to change quickly.

1 Goal in the Last 2 Games Is Not Good Enough

Speaking of things that are inexcusable, the Sabres have scored just one goal over their last six periods of hockey. And it’s not just the lack of finishing; it’s the lack of meaningful pressure. Yes, they’ve put up 50 shots across the two games, but almost all of them have come from the perimeter. Against Dallas, Jake Oettinger was barely challenged. Against the Mammoth, Karel Vejmelka wasn’t forced to make many difficult saves either.

The Sabres need their stars and their supporting cast to start producing. Rasmus Dahlin is off to a slow start, and the same can be said for Josh Norris, Josh Doan, Zach Benson, and Ryan McLeod. With four games against Atlantic Division opponents coming up this week, the urgency is real. They need those players to step up and start driving the offense, or this skid could get worse quickly.

Lindy Ruff Calls Out Players

On Saturday morning, it was reported that head coach Lindy Ruff decided to scratch rookies Konsta Helenius and Jiri Kulich. Ruff wanted to see more effort from those two players and from the rest of the team as well. It was meant to be a message to the locker room, a wake‑up call to spark some urgency. Unfortunately, it didn’t have the intended effect, as the Sabres were still outplayed by the Mammoth.

“If you want to stay in the lineup, you have to play hard and you’ve got to be bringing something to the table every night,” Ruff said. When asked about Helenius, he was very blunt about why he was scratched.

“When it gets right down to it, it’s hard to compete, compete on pucks, there’s a lot of details that goes into every shift, whether it’s 50-50 help on faceoffs, so the compete part is the heavy compete on pucks where we got smoked the other night,” said Ruff, referring to Thursday’s loss to the Dallas Stars. “He’s going to be a good player; just part of being young is that up and down, that consistency part, and some of it is the details for the game.”

Injury Updates

Conor Timmins left the team’s preseason finale with an injury and was placed on injured reserve before the regular season began. He began to do some rehab skating on Oct. 8, and his timetable to return is still unclear.

Alex Lyon left the team’s preseason game against the Detroit Red Wings on Sept. 24 after diving for a loose puck. He’s on injured reserve and resumed skating with the team, but Ruff said he can be activated any time and should resume practice within the next few days.

Jason Zucker has been out since the start of training camp due to suffering a sports hernia during the offseason. Before the season, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said he “could maybe miss a couple weeks of the regular season.”

Upcoming Schedule

Here is the Sabres upcoming schedule:

• Monday, Oct. 12 vs Florida Panthers @ 7:00 pm ET
• Tuesday, Oct. 13 @ Montreal Canadiens @ 6:30 pm ET
• Thursday, Oct. 15 @ Toronto Maple Leafs @ 7:00 pm ET
• Saturday, Oct. 17 @ Montreal Canadiens @ 7:00 pm ET