A check of the ice times among the Buffalo Sabres' defensemen from Tuesday night's win in Ottawa showed some very intriguing numbers.
Mattias Samuelsson, in just his second NHL game of the season, led the club by playing 22:01 in the 3-1 victory. He had played 18:32 in Monday's overtime loss to Detroit, his first game after his recall from Rochester.
Houser was active in his crease all night, moving well laterally and getting to rebounds quick in the Buffalo Sabres' 3-1 victory, which included goals from Dylan Cozens, Mark Jankowski and Alex Tuch.
"There's good reason to put trust in him," Sabres coach Don Granato said after the game. "He was good. You see the size, the strength and athleticism. He's an intelligent player that makes good reads. He makes the game look simple."
The Sabres had Samuelsson on the ice in late-game situations, including the shift that had Alex Tuch's empty-net goal, and his play allowed them to spread out their minutes. That was clear when you note that Rasmus Dahlin played 19:32 – his lowest total since October and just fourth among the blueliners behind Samuelsson, Mark Pysyk (20:47) and Henri Jokiharju (19:53).
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Dahlin did take one minor penalty that cost him two minutes, but it's unclear whether the Sabres were being more careful with his ice time on a back-to-back situation or if he was nursing an injury.
If the Sabres ever want to get anywhere in the Atlantic Division, they first better conquer Ottawa and Detroit, Harrington says.
Nonetheless, it was eye-opening to see Samuelsson's immediate impact. Buffalo's second-round pick in the 2018 draft had three blocked shots in the game and a plus-2 rating.
"We had no problem putting him out there and using him," Granato said. "Back-to-back nights, he's a young guy, skating well and he's such an efficient skater, too. He plays efficiently there. So that was a reason for more minutes. Minutes are less taxing to him."
Samuelsson led the Sabres in penalty-killing time at 4:36 as Buffalo held Ottawa to 1 for 5 on the power play.
Speaking before Wednesday's game against Syracuse, Rochester coach Seth Appert credited assistant coach and former Sabre Mike Weber with pushing Samuelsson's game to higher levels.
"I thought he was becoming a dominant defender in the American Hockey League," Appert said. "And the thing about Mattias ... we're not trying to just develop an NHL defenseman, we're trying to develop a top-four, shutdown-pairing NHL defender that can help Buffalo win. There's a big difference just playing in the NHL and helping your franchise be successful. And that's what we're trying to do with our prospects."
Aaron Dell will get his third consecutive start in goal for the Buffalo Sabres on Monday afternoon against Detroit.
No injury updates on day off
The Sabres had a CBA-mandated day off Wednesday, so there were no updates on the injury status of several players. Kyle Okposo did not return to the game after taking a hit from Ottawa's Erik Brannstrom that created the scrum that led to Mark Jankowski's tie-breaking goal in the third period, and Vinnie Hinostroza missed the game after he was injured early in the third period Monday against Detroit.
The team also has to issue updates on Zemgus Girgensons, Colin Miller and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who were all placed on injured reserve on Monday. In Rochester, JJ Peterka is skating on his own and could return for the Amerks' weekend series in Cleveland.
Appert on Houser
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Appert said he particularly proud of the job Michael Houser did in the Sabres' net Tuesday, stopping 43 of 44 shots in his first NHL game of the year after his recall following three starts by Aaron Dell.
"Pretty big smile on my face the whole night. He's been real good for us," Appert said. "When he made a breakaway save and the rebound save in the first two minutes last night, as soon as he did that, I felt like he was going to have a game. Now, I didn't think it was maybe going to be 43 out of 44. That's a pretty special night for any goaltender. So that was a lot of fun to watch. All of our guys are buzzing about it in the locker room. We're all just incredibly happy for him."
