Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters on Thursday that goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and defenseman Michael Kesselring are still being evaluated for injuries that forced them out of Wednesday's preseason loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Ruff says it would be a positive for the team if Luukkonen is, in fact, dealing with something different than what held him out of training camp.
With all this in mind, Alex Lyon will get the start in Pittsburgh on Friday, and will play, at least, two periods.
As for as the rest of the injuries, defenseman Bo Byram practiced on Thursday, and is certainly a possibility to play on Friday.
"If he comes to the rink tomorrow and feels good, in all likelihood, we’ll play him," said Ruff on Thursday.
Another defensive injury trending in a positive direction for the Sabres revolves around Mattias Samuelsson.
"Samuelsson is feeling really good, and we’ll hopefully get him back to full practice tomorrow. That’s a big positive for us too," Ruff noted.
Sabres winger Zach Benson is still not practicing, but Ruff believes he is improving.
"Benson feels good. I would project him back in practice in a day or two," the Sabres head coach said. "I talked to him this morning, and we’ve got a plan for him, so we’ll stay on track with that."
Ruff admitted the two players questionable right now for the Oct. 9 opener against the New York Rangers would be Luukkonen and Kesselring, though, it’s still not known yet with the severity of their injuries.
After Friday’s game in Pittsburgh, the team won’t be coming back to Buffalo right away. They’ll go on the retreat that Ruff talked about wanting to do on the first day of camp.
That will officially wrap up training camp.
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