Jack Quinn scored his first NHL goal during the Sabres' Jan. 20 win against Dallas but also suffered a lower-body injury in the first period and played through it, hoping it wouldn't keep him out of the lineup.
As it turned out, that's exactly what happened. The Sabres' No. 1 draft pick in 2020 wasn't seen on the ice until practice Tuesday morning in KeyBank Center but looked good skating in a regular contact role. Both Quinn and coach Don Granato said the 20-year-old is shooting to be ready for this weekend.
The question was where. The decision was made later Tuesday afternoon to start Quinn in Rochester.
Quinn looked as if he were in for an extended stay in Buffalo when the injury struck. But to get back into game shape and to help sort out multiple roster contingencies, it made more sense to initially send him to the AHL. The Amerks host Syracuse on Wednesday before embarking on a two-game weekend series at Belleville.
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"That would be my goal in my head I think, to play this weekend," Quinn said. "It's up to the doctors and staff to see if they're on the same page as me."
Quinn and veteran winger Vinnie Hinostroza were both dealing with similar injuries and returned to practice Tuesday. Hinostroza, who could be an attractive target for teams at the March 21 NHL trade deadline, has been out since the Jan. 17 overtime loss to Detroit.
"The injury felt really good, the body felt great," Quinn said. "I just kind of think it'll take a couple practices to get my touch back in terms of all the little stuff you can't really replicate in a rehab skate. But other than that, really good."
"They were great today. The information we got couldn't have been any better," Granato said. "They pushed it pretty hard and they were they were taking contact. They were in physical battles so that is really good news."
Move for Mittelstadt
Granato had Casey Mittelstadt on the wing in Tuesday's practice, playing on a line with center Dylan Cozens and right wing Kyle Okposo. Peyton Krebs was moved from wing back to center, between Rasmus Asplund and Victor Olofsson. Mittelstadt has one goal, two assists and a minus-12 rating in the 12 games he's played this season, and one assist with a minus-5 rating in the five games since his most recent return to the lineup.
Mittelstadt's turnover just inside the St. Louis line sent the Blues away on the odd-man rush that led to Colton Parayko's winning goal in Buffalo's 5-3 loss Friday night in Enterprise Center. He was injured on opening night, returned nearly two months later, had surgery on his core-muscle injury after playing just three games, played three more games after his return and then sat out three more weeks before returning Feb. 19.
"It's easy to be transparent. We all see it. He's not himself yet," Granato said of Mittelstadt. "He's pushing hard. He's working hard. There's no doubt in my mind that he is, but he hasn't played a lot of hockey in the last 7-10 months. Other guys are in midseason form and he's not.
"He has a high standard and high expectations of himself and he's gonna battle that right now because he just can't physically do yet what he could do before the injury. ... So I figured, let's just make that shift, give Peyton that opportunity and maybe give Mittelstadt a little bit more support till he gets feeling more like himself. And that was all of what went into it."
Around the boards
• Speaking on a video call in advance of this week's Big Ten Tournament, Sabres No. 1 overall draft pick Owen Power acknowledged he feels his multi-experience season has him prepared to join the Sabres at some point in the next few weeks. Power, who has played for Canada in the abbreviated World Juniors and the Beijing Olympics, insisted all his focus remains on Michigan's title quest in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
"I think so but that's definitely not what I'm worried about right now," Power said when asked about his NHL readiness. "I'm worried about my season here and winning a national championship. I think I'm ready and good to go (to Buffalo). But it's not what I'm worried about right now."
• Defenseman Henri Jokiharju, who has missed the last two games with a lower-body injury, did not practice Tuesday and was listed as week to week on the injury report. But Granato said that status could actually expire at the end of this week and "there's still a short-term hope there and short-term focus" on Jokiharju's return.
• Forward Brandon Biro will be out "a minimum of four weeks and maybe more" according to Rochester coach Seth Appert, who revealed Tuesday after practice that Biro had suffered a lower-body injury. Biro played 13½ minutes in his NHL debut Tuesday in Montreal and then was injured when he returned to the Amerks for Friday's game against Syracuse.
• Sabres prospect Devon Levi was named Hockey East goaltender of the week after stopping 100 of 103 shots in a pair of victories for Northeastern over UConn. It was his third honor of the season. Levi, who tied the school record with 60 saves in Friday's 3-1 victory, is second in the NCAA in save percentage at .951 and third in goals-against average at 1.54.
