SABRES (5-4-3) at DUCKS (5-6-1)

10 p.m. ET; Disney+, HULU, ESPN+, SN+

Sabres projected lineup

Peyton Krebs -- Tage Thompson -- Zach Benson

Josh Doan -- Noah Ostlund -- Jack Quinn

Jason Zucker -- Ryan McLeod -- Josh Norris

Tyson Kozak -- Sam Carrick -- Beck Malenstyn

Rasmus Dahlin -- Mattias Samuelsson

Olen Zellweger -- Owen Power

Dennis Gilbert -- Louis Crevier

Colten Ellis

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Scratched: Zach Metsa

Injured: Jiri Kulich (concussion protocol), Justin Danforth (upper body), Matt Grzelcyk (lower body), Alex Lyon (upper body), Conor Timmins (lower body), Konsta Helenius (upper body)

Ducks projected lineup

Alex Killorn -- Leo Carlsson -- Judd Caulfield

Jeff Malott -- Mikael Granlund -- Beckett Sennecke

A.J. Greer -- Tim Washe -- Cutter Gauthier

Frank Vatrano -- Roger McQueen -- Sam Colangelo

Jackson LaCombe -- Noah Warren

Tyson Hinds -- Tristan Luneau

Pavel Mintyukov -- Drew Helleson

Lukas Dostal

Ville Husso

Scratched: Nikita Klepov, Nikita Nesterenko, Travis Mitchell, Nick Jensen

Injured: Ian Moore (lower body), Troy Terry (hip), Ryan Poehling (knee)

Status report

Helenius is returning to Buffalo for further evaluation, Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said after the morning skate; the forward took a hard hit from San Jose Sharks defenseman Jacob Trouba in the second period of a 2-0 win Tuesday and was limited to three shifts in the third period before leaving. Carrick will return after missing four games with a middle-body injury.

Krebs will move from the fourth to the first line to fill Helenius' spot. Gilbert will come in for Metsa after being a healthy scratch against the Sharks.

The Ducks did not hold a morning skate. Mintyukov practiced Wednesday and is expected to return after missing three games with a lower-body injury.

Gauthier and Killorn switched lines at practice Wednesday.