Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – Buffalo Sabres winger Alex Tuch did come out for the optional morning skate on Friday, but it didn’t take him long to leave for the locker room. He has an upper-body injury and has missed the last two days of practice.
2022 first-round pick Matt Savoie took his spot on Thursday with Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner. Friday night will be Savoie's debut in the NHL against the Minnesota Wild.
Sabres head coach Don Granato described Tuch as questionable. He says he spoke with the veteran winger after the skate, and they’ll have another conversation in the afternoon.
Tuch has been red-hot for Buffalo, scoring three goals in his last two games and nine points in seven games.
Dylan Cozens missed two games with a broken nose, but Granato says he will return for Friday's game.
Granato mentioned that defenseman Mattias Samuelsson has a chance to return on Saturday in Pittsburgh against the Penguins.
He also mentioned that with the way defenseman Ryan Johnson has performed, he is going to make roster decisions very difficult.
Devon Levi will take his turn in net against the Wild on Friday. So far this season, the rookie is 2-3-0 with a 3.41 goals-against average and an .885 save percentage.
Buffalo has points in four out of five games, and five out of seven. The penalty kill has given up one goal in each of the last two games, but the unit still ranks as one of the league’s best, sitting fourth with an 88% kill rate.
In Tuesday's overtime loss against the Carolina Hurricanes, the power play went 1-for-4, but that’s deceiving because Rasmus Dahlin made a play that only he could make. The rest of the time saw both units unable to even enter the zone.
Buffalo's PP is currently ranked 27th with a 12.8% conversion rate.
Tage Thompson has five goals and five assists for 10 points in seven games.
Buffalo is only 4-5-1 in their last 10 home games against the Wild.
Minnesota lost in New York to the Rangers on Thursday night, 4-1. The Wild have lost five of seven games.
Marc-Andre Fleury played against the Rangers, so Filip Gustavsson is expected to get the start against Buffalo. Gustavsson is 2-3-1 this season with a 4.89 goals-against average and an .871 save percentage.
Gustavsson gave up five goals two starts ago against the New Jersey Devils, and was pulled after 6:53 of action against the Rangers, giving up three goals on four shots.
Minnesota has been without captain Jared Spurgeon, who is nursing an upper-body injury.
It hasn’t been the best start for star winger Kirill Kaprizov. Yes, he has 12 points in 13 games, but lately he has just three points in seven.
Minnesota’s leading scorers are Joel Eriksson-Ek and Mats Zuccarello with 13 points each. Eriksson-Ek and Ryan Hartman both have seven goals.
Join the Bulldog for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. EST when you’ll hear from Granato, Henri Jokiharju and former Wild winger Jordan Greenway.
