The Buffalo Sabres are holding their annual Pride Night game tonight, March 27, 2023, against the Montreal Canadians at Key Bank Center.

What is Pride Night?

Pride Night in the National Hockey League has been happening for several years. It shows support for those in the LGBTQIA+ community. The Buffalo Sabres wear a special warmup jersey with a rainbow-colored logo. The team then auctions off the jerseys online with proceeds going to local Pride organizations.

Pride Night Issues Around the NHL

This season, several NHL players have come out against supporting Pride Night. For most it has been a religious issue, citing LGBTQIA+ rights as against their beliefs. Overall, it is only a handful of players who are refusing to participate in festivities, however, it has made a lot of noise around the sports world due to the political climate in the United States.

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What do the Buffalo Sabres Have Planned for Tonight's Game?

The Buffalo Sabres' players will wear special Pride jerseys in pregame warmups, as well as use custom pucks commemorating the night during the warmup. The players can also use Pride Tape during the warmups if they would like. The Sabres then take the jerseys and sticks used during that time and auction them off at Sabres.com/Auction to benefit local Pride organizations.

The Game begins at 7pm. Tickets are on sale at Sabres.com.

What Buffalo Sabres Player is Sitting Out the Pride Warmups?

Only one Buffalo Sabres player is sitting out the pre-game warmup Pride festivities: defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin. This is Lyubushkin'a first year with the team. He is a native of Moscow, Russia.

Why is Ilya Lyubushkin Sitting Out the Buffalo Sabres' Pride Night Warmup?

As Lyubushkin is a Russian national, he is citing security concerns as his reasoning for sitting out.

As far as the legitimacy of his concerns, that's tough to say from our seat here in there the United States. We do know what the NHL has said on the issue.

Here are what his teammates had to say, including the Sabres' Captains.

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