Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – Rasmus Dahlin did a rehab skate before practice on Tuesday. It went so well that the Buffalo Sabres' medical staff cleared him for the team practice.
Dahlin got hurt during Saturday's loss to the Colorado Avalanche and missed Sunday's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets due to a lower-body injury Dahlin said everything on Tuesday went well.
“I was not sure I was going to feel 100%, but I did. So it’s great, and I’m happy to be back,” Dahlin said after Tuesday's practice.
Sabres head coach Don Granato was glad to see Dahlin in regular practice.
“He looked normal to me out there, and he stayed out after, so that’s good news,” Granato said on Tuesday.
Granato says the medical staff does still worry about strength in the area of Dahlin's injury.
“I looked like and felt like he had his strength, and he wasn’t wincing, so I’m expecting a good report,” he said.
Many felt Dahlin got hurt when he got tied up with Avalanche defenseman Jack Johnson behind the net in the third period of Saturday's loss. Dahlin admitted, though, he’s not so sure when it happened.
“I think it’s a little bit of everything," Dahlin said. "I didn’t feel it right away. It slowly came after the game, so I’m not really sure exactly what was the situation. But it was a physical game, and a lot of stuff happened out there.”
The Sabres had been playing very well against the NHL’s best team, and that play with Johnson could’ve resulted in two penalties, but didn’t. As Dahlin lay injured on the ice, the Avalanche went up ice and scored the game-winning goal. The defenseman feels it was just a hockey play.
“When stuff like that happens, it’s unfortunate, but I’m not complaining," Dahlin said. "It’s hockey, and it goes so fast out there and it just sucks that they scored on that play. Life goes on. ... Of course I want a penalty on that, but it goes so fast and it was behind the net too, so I’m not mad about it.”
Victor Olofsson will not accompany the team to Montreal when the Sabres play the Canadiens on Wednesday. He has a non-COVID-related illness and didn’t practice on Tuesday.
Casey Mittelstadt stepped into Olofsson’s place with Dylan Cozens and Peyton Krebs on the right wing. All three played center at some point in practice, and Granato said that was by design.
“I looked at it and said, ‘Let’s shift’ with the way Cozens skates and Krebs processes the game, much like 'Mitzy' does," Granato explained. "So whether we do that in a game tomorrow or not, I don’t know yet. But for practice, it made complete sense.”
Granato did admit that he’s intrigued by the three of them playing as a line, but the Sabres called up Brandon Biro from the Rochester Americans. Granato didn’t know if he was going to play and make his NHL debut on Wednesday.
This season, the 23-year-old college free agent signee has nine goals and 27 assists for 36 points in 39 games. That ties him with JJ Peterka for the team’s assist lead. Biro spent four years at Penn State University, and in his final two seasons scored 26 goals and 39 assists for 65 points in 62 games.
Defenseman Will Butcher had his first practice since hurting the MCL in his knee back on Jan. 29 in Arizona against the Coyotes. Butcher has missed eight games and says he's been progressing very nicely with his recovery.
"The initial timeline was 4-to-6 weeks, and I’m on the early side of things,” Butcher said after practice.
When the injury happened, it looked pretty bad, as Butcher had to be helped off the ice. He was originally worried about what had happened.
“I was more cautious, because it felt like my kneecap came out," Butcher said of his injury. "I just heard a loud pop, and then my knee was stiff and I couldn’t move it. It was scary there for a second, but I got the best news that it was just a MCL sort of thing.”
Butcher doesn’t know how much practice he’ll need before he can play.
TUESDAY’S LINES:
Forwards:
Skinner – Thompson – Tuch
Krebs – Cozens – Mittelstadt (All three played every position)
Asplund – Jankowski – Okposo
Bjork – Eakin – Hayden
Defense:
Dahlin – Jokiharju
Hagg – Butcher
Samuelsson – Fitzgerald
Bryson - Pysyk
