San Jose, Calif. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - After missing Tuesday's win over the Vegas Golden Knights, Buffalo Sabres winger Alex Tuch took part in Thursday's morning skate and will return to the lineup against the San Jose Sharks.
Tuch was forced to miss Tuesday's game due to an illness, but feels much better ahead of Thursday's contest.
"I felt good, really good. Better than I thought I was going to a couple of days ago," said Tuch. "But that was a tough one. I felt good to be back out there."
You always worry about stamina after a player misses time being sick. Tuch says he’s been here before.
"I don’t think I was off for too long, so I don’t think it’ll be an issue," he said. "But maybe the first couple of shifts, keep them short."
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff feels it’s something that will need watching.
"I think we’ll get a good read on him early, and we can balance the ice-time off of that," he said after the morning skate.
The Sabres third pair of defensemen will again be Zach Metsa and Logan Stanley. They showed well in their first game together in Vegas according to Ruff,
“I thought that pair did a nice job. Moved the puck well, I thought defended well, there was a lot to like about their game.
Ruff was asked about Stanley’s comfort level rising and he said,
“That’s what we’re trying to get to, he understands how we need to play, I thought his box outs around the net were real good, moving the puck, 90% of it was good, I’m sure there’s a couple he wants back, but overall I think he’s feeling better about his game than the first couple.”
Metsa plays a very calm game which Ruff feels helps them be a good pair,
“Zach’s breakout ability has been so good, that compliments how we need to play and I think he gave them good outs at times.
“I think he broke the puck out himself well, so I think those two did play off of each other.”
Buffalo is working on a team record road streak picking up points in 11 straight games. In that streak they’re 10-0-1. Overall they’re 19-11-3 away from home.
It’s Alex Lyon’s turn to be in net. He’s won five straight games and since Dec. 8 is 16-2-0 with a 2.22 goals against and .924 save percentage.
The Carolina Hurricanes won their game in hand and are back ahead of the Sabres with a points percentage of .676. Buffalo is .662 while the Tampa Bay Lightning is .652. Tampa Bay is at Vancouver tonight while Carolina visits Toronto tomorrow. Macklin Celebrini did score against the Sabres in Buffalo, but that was because of a bad turnover. Ruff said the did a decent job on the kid that’s fifth in league scoring with 35 goals and 60 assists for 95 points,
“He created a couple of opportunities with just speed and agility that our goalies made good saves on (Lyon), he’s just a guy you’ve got to be aware of because if he has a step or he gets inside, or if he gets you flat footed, he can beat you, but I think for the most part, we got in his way, we bumped him because you’ve got to slow down the key guys.”
Buffalo won that game 6-3. The Sharks have lost two in a row and five out of seven. They’ve only won five of their last 15 games. That puts them one point behind the Seattle Kraken and the Los Angeles Kings for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West. All three have a points percentage of .530.
Tage Thompson had been on a hot streak that almost hit 40 games, but he’s gone very cold lately going pointless in four straight and goalless in five in a row.
Join Brian Koziol for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 9 p.m. when you’ll hear from Ruff and Zach Benson.
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