Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – After spending a week in quarantine, Drake Caggiula will get to play his first game with the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.
Caggiula was claimed off waivers from the Arizona Coyotes back on April 9, and he said it was a lonely week waiting to be cleared.
“It was long and slow, not a whole lot going on, but I was able to get some workouts and bike rides in," Caggiula said following Tuesday's morning skate. "Other than that, watched a lot of TV shows and sports.”
Caggiula has played one game since March 27, but he thinks he’ll be fine.
“There’s nothing to save it for," Caggiula said. "There’s not too many games left in the season, so whatever situation I’m put in, I’m ready to answer the bell.”
Caggiula grew up close by in Pickering, Ontario, so Buffalo isn’t new to him.
“I used to come to Buffalo with my dad all the time to watch games, because it was a lot cheaper than going to the Toronto games, so I’m familiar with the area," he said. "I’m familiar with the organization, having come here for development camp [in 2014], so I’m excited to be here to showcase what I’m doing.”
Caggiula said one game he went to with his dad and borther was when the Sabres played against Eric Lindros and the Philadelphia Flyers.
Caggiula will enter the lineup on Tuesday for Cody Eakin. The veteran center was benched for most of the final two periods on Sunday after taking a bad penalty and committing a sloppy turnover. Eakin has had a rough season, but Don Granato says with the way other guys on the roster have earned spots, "it doesn’t have to go to punishing somebody" with his benching.
“Cody clearly wasn’t on his game, and mistakes happen," the Sabres interim head coach said Tuesday. "We’re at a point where we can put Caggiula in, and there needs to be a guy out. I thought the other night other guys were going, so I went with those guys. They were going, they were in sync and they were in the moment.”
The Sabres are playing a Boston Bruins team that is 4-0-0 since acquiring Taylor Hall, Curtis Lazar and Mike Reilly at the trade deadline.
Dustin Tokarski hadn’t won a NHL game since 2015, but last week, he went 2-1-1, earning the NHL’s "First Star" of the Week honors. Tokarski had a save percentage of .934, raising his season average to .914. He’ll get the call on Tuesday, with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen dressing as the backup. Luukkonen has the possibility of playing Thursday.
Buffalo is 0-2-1 against Boston this season, but they’re also playing much better. Casey Mittelstadt has 10 points in his last 11 games, Rasmus Dahlin has eight points in his last nine games, while Sam Reinhart has four goals and five points in five games.
With a points percentage of .344, this team is no longer the worst team in Sabres history. The 2013-14 team had a points percentage of .317, while the 2014-15 team held a .329 points percentage.
The Sabres are only three points from crawling out of the league cellar.
Tuesday’s lines:
Forwards:
Skinner – Reinhart – Olofsson
Asplund – Mittelstadt – Thompson
Bjork – Cozens – Ruotsalainen
Rieder – Sheahan – Caggiula
Defense:
Samuelsson – Ristolainen
Bryson – Miller
Dahlin – Jokiharju
Boston is still fourth in the East Division, four points ahead of the New York Rangers and three points back of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Bruins have scored 16 goals during their four-game winning streak, but are only 1-for-12 on the power play.
Tuukka Rask has played two games since coming back from injury, giving up one goal in a win over the New York Islanders and three goals in a victory over the Washington Capitals.
This season, Rask is 10-4-2 with a 2.36 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage.
Brad Marchand is fourth in league scoring with 23 goals and 31 assists for 54 points. His goals are fifth in the NHL.
Matt Grzelcyk returns on defense after missing five games due to injury.
Join Mike Schopp for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 5:30 p.m. ET, when he’ll be joined by Granato, Caggiula and Dylan Cozens.
