Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – As the Sabres prepare to play the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night back in Buffalo, general manager Kevyn Adams updated the media on his two injured defensemen.
First up, Mattias Samuelsson went through testing on his injured knee, and is expected to miss some time in the lineup.
"We were all really concerned," said Adams of Samuelsson's injury. "We got him back home, had a MRI and it's going to be a few weeks. But much better than maybe we had thought."
When the injury happened Saturday night against the Vancouver Canucks, the original outlook seemed bad.
“Your first thought is worst-case scenario, because he’s a tough kid and when you saw how much pain he was in. But the MRI was good," Adams said. "Bad news, we don’t want him out, but it’s better than the alternative.”
Also injured last week Thursday in Calgary against the Flames was Henri Jokiharju, who got hit in the face with a puck. Adams says he fractured a bone under his nose.
“It’s not overly changing his progress. He had a better day today, but I think he’s more in a week-to-week range,” Adams said.
Adams believes Jokiharju will probably try to skate sometime next week.
The Sabres are without Samuelsson and Jokiharju in Buffalo, while in the American Hockey League, Chase Priske will be out awhile for the Rochester Americans.
That has led to Adams looking for help with his defensive depth depleted.
“We signed players over the summer to make sure we had depth, but now maybe we’ll add," Adams said. "We’ve been looking at all options across the league, but what we don’t do is make a reactional type mover or an emotional move.”
Adams says the cost for such a player can’t be assets.
Adams was, overall, pleased with the 3-1-0 trip out West both on and off the ice.
For Thursday’s game contest with Montreal, the rotation at forward continues with Peyton Krebs going back into the lineup for Rasmus Asplund.
Meanwhile, Jack Quinn is now on the top power play unit, while Casey Mittelstadt moves down. Krebs is no longer on the power play.
Even when they do play, it’s not much, as Krebs is averaging 12:11 per-game and Quinn is at 11:31. Adams is OK with them not playing in every game.
“You want to make sure they’re put in a position to develop, and that can mean a lot of things," Adams said. "As long as I look at this and see our guys putting them in positions to get better and develop, then I’m comfortable with it.
“If we have guys come out of the lineup for a few games and then go in, it’s not a punishment. So for me, as long as I don’t see their development taking a back seat, I’m comfortable with how it’s going.”
It’s looking like Eric Comrie will remain in goal for the Sabres on Thursday. Comrie is 2-2-0 this season with a 3.51 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage.
Because of the heavy game schedule while the Sabres were out West, they needed to take time for their bodies to recover. The team only had two practices while they were gone.
With Jacob Bryson and Ilya Lyubushkin being thrust into top-four roles on the blue line and Lawrence Pilut coming up from Rochester, it’s been harder to integrate in.
“It’s a challenge and when you think of integrating new defensemen, and the ability to play as a pair," said head coach Don Granato on Thursday. "Now you lose Samuelsson and Jokiharju, and you don’t have the practices. But that’s OK, because it’s still going to take time even if we had the practices.
“We have taken film with those pairs of defensemen, and showed them how they can improve together. It’s a process that you can’t shortcut. ... I don’t think it’s going to take long, and today I think they’ll be better than they were the other day.”
The Sabres were on a plane all day on Wednesday, as they flew back from Seattle. Typically, East Coast teams coming back from out West have trouble in their first game. Granato had a different morning skate, as much of it was like a regular practice.
“This morning was different, because we came back through three time zones yesterday, and it was a full day of travel. They didn’t get a workout in, so we felt we needed a little bit more of a push," Granato said. "We’re dealing with a time change, so for that, the context is totally different for today.”
The year’s top overall pick, Juraj Slafkovsky, has missed the last two games for Montreal with an upper-body injury. Slafkovsky has just one goal and no assists in the five games that he’s played.
Newly appointed captain Nick Suzuki leads the team with seven points in seven games, while Cole Caufield has five goals in those seven games.
The Canadiens have lost two-straight games, and four-out-of-six. They also only have one power play goal this season in 21 attempts. On the other side of that coin, Montreal has only given up three goals while down a man.
Jake Allen has played the last three games. He’s had a pretty good season so far, except for one game against the Dallas Stars where he gave up five goals.
Join Mike Schopp for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. ET when you’ll hear from Granato, Quinn and Kyle Okposo. He will also be speaking with Adams starting at 5:30 p.m. ET.
