Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres welcomed forward Casey Mittelstadt back to practice on Wednesday, but he was sporting the non-contact sweater on. He will not be playing in games for the Sabres any time soon.
We had a chance to speak with the center afterwards, and it’s obvious he’s frustrated, but not beaten by all that's happened this season.
“It was a bigger level operation that I had, so there’s going to be some complications. More than anything, I’m just working through it.” Mittelstadt said, then paused to gather himself. “It sucks, but it is what it is. It's just keep going, and my confidence is going to get back to where it needs to be. When it is, I’m going to be ready to go.”
Mittelstadt came back from surgery, played two games, getting over 16 minutes of ice-time leading into the game in Colorado, where he left after just around five minutes of work.
“I think it’s a compilation of things," Mittelstadt explained. "I’m trying to skate up the ice and I’m just not moving the way I want to. There comes a point where I think I’m not helping myself out there, and not helping the team. So it’s just going to be taking it day-by-day and just keep working.”
Sabres head coach Don Granato said there’s nothing wrong with the surgery, there was just some discomfort and fluid, which is expected. However, Mittelstadt admits he is not a patient person.
“That’s the biggest challenge: Just trying to stay patient, attack every day and just trying to keep getting better, even if it’s just a little bit in a day," he said. "There’s definitely going to be peaks and valleys, so I’m not a very patient person in any way, shape or form.”
Mittelstadt has only played seven games this season with the Sabres, scoring a goal and picking up an assist. He says he’s not thinking at all about shutting it down for the rest of the season.
"I would never let that enter my mind until I heard it,” Mittelstadt said.
The 23-year-old still treasures the fact that he can be with his teammates and laugh with them, because it brightens his day.
After Wednesday's practice, the Sabres sent Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen back to the Rochester Americans. In nine games with the Sabres this year, he was 2-5-2 with a 2.74 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage.
During the break, Luukkonen was on the ice in Rochester and has had two practices in Buffalo.
In eight games this season, Craig Anderson is 5-3-0 with a 2.62 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage.
In 15 games, Dustin Tokarski is 4-6-3 with a 3.27 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.
If you go by how the three have played, Anderson and Luukkonen belong in the crease.
Granato said Tokarski will play Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and Anderson will play Sunday in Montreal against the Canadiens. When Luukkonen came to training camp, the hope was he’d make the team so Anderson could be his mentor. I asked Granato if that would potentially factor into the decision.
“It did, but I don’t want to push Tokarski out of there by any means. But yes, absolutely," Granato said. "When you think of 'UPL', you think of here’s a guy that’s talented, and we want him to become a NHL No. 1 goaltender. 'Andy’s' walked that walk, and there’s something to be said for having that calm and that hindsight around next to him. So yes, we do definitely consider it, and we like 'Andy' and what he does in that regard for 'UPL'.”
Last season in Washington, Anderson mentored Vitek Vanecek, who is 26-years-old, and Ilya Samsonov, who is 24. Luukkonen is 22, and Anderson said at age 40, he enjoys being a mentor.
"There’s a lot of the game that I’ve learned over the years that I can pass on," he said on Wednesday.
“The guys that shared information with me when I was a young guy (Jocelyn Thibault, Nikolai Khabibulin, Tomas Vokoun and Peter Budaj) are guys that I’m thankful for. So I'm hoping that I can repay and give back to the game. It is enjoyable to see them take the information and tweak their game a little bit, or see a light bulb go off where they say, ‘Hey, that actually works’ and they start using that. It’s definitely rewarding.”
As far as what Anderson has seen in Luukkonen’s nine games, he sees a big, fast, agile, and young netminder.
"He’s a guy that can be a game changer," Anderson said. "He’s shown spurts of game-breaking saves, and he’s definitely got the work ethic to go along with the skill set. It’s exciting to see him grow. I think he’s come a long ways. I saw him in training camp, and then everybody got hurt and he was up here playing. You could see his game come to where it is now, so I’m really excited to see where the next couple of steps take him.”
The Blue Jackets were in Washington on Tuesday and overcame a 2-0 deficit to beat the Capitals, 5-4. Captain Boone Jenner scored with 45 seconds left in the game to win it.
The Blue Jackets also practiced in Buffalo on Wednesday.
Wednesday’s lines:
Forwards:
Skinner – Thompson – Tuch
Asplund – Krebs – Olofsson
Bjork – Cozens – Okposo
Jankowski – Eakin – Hayden
Defense:
Dahlin – Jokiharju
Hagg – Pysyk
Samuelsson – Bryson (Fitzgerald)
