The Sabres aren't offering specific timelines on the return of injured defensemen Mattias Samuelsson and Henri Jokiharju but General Manager Kevyn Adams gave more clarity on what to expect going forward Thursday morning.
Samuelsson suffered a knee injury Saturday in Vancouver while Jokiharju was struck by a puck to the face Thursday in Edmonton. Adams said neither required surgery. Samuelsson, however, will be out of the lineup for several weeks. Jokiharju is progressing although still listed as week to week.
Adams admitted his first look at the Samuelsson play, which came on an attempted check in the corner, had him fearing a season-ending injury. But an MRI done in Buffalo showed there was no severe damage.
"It's going to be a few weeks but much better than we originally thought," Adams said. "... Your first thought is the worst-case scenario, because part of it is just he's a tough kid and you saw how much pain he was in. Talking to him after, that's what shook him up a little bit: 'I was in a lot of pain.' The MRI was good and bad news. We don't want him out a few weeks but it's a lot better than the alternative."
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The Sabres found out that Jokiharju suffered a small facial fracture under his nose after taking an errant shot by Kyle Okposo early in the game in Calgary. But Adams said it's possible he could be skating again sometime next week.
"That isn't actually overly changing his progress or anything and he had a better day today," the GM said. "But I think he's more kind of a week-to-week range. So good news on him is that he's feeling a lot better. He's progressing."
With the injuries, Rasmus Dahlin skated with Ilya Lyubushkin as the top pair during Tuesday's loss in Seattle while Owen Power was with Jacob Bryson and Lawrence Pilut was with Casey Fitzgerald. The entire team struggled with turnovers during the 5-1 loss to the Kraken and the defense pairings clearly looked like they were missing rhythm because of the two key absences.
"Get pairs together and get guys comfortable playing within our system or as D partners," coach Don Granato said Thursday morning of his immediate objective. "Because so much of what you do and so much of what we do, you play in tandem as a pair. And that takes a little while."
"They're a huge part of the team and they bring the team such a calm in their game," Dahlin said after the morning skate. "We miss them for sure. It's going to be a challenge and we've got to take it on and make the best of it."
With Kale Clague called up from Rochester and the Amerks losing both Chase Priskie and Peter Tischke on defense to week-to-week injuries, the organizational depth on the blueline is being severely challenged. The Amerks re-signed veteran Brandon Davidson to a tryout contract and Adams said the Sabres are on the lookout for more help on defense, including a possible addition on the NHL level.
"Over the last two days, we've been looking at all options across the league and scenarios," Adams said. "What we won't do is make a big reaction-type move or emotional move. But if we think something makes sense that we could provide a little more depth in the organization, not where what it costs is we're giving up assets, then maybe that's something we'll look to do."
Forward rotation
Peyton Krebs returned to the Buffalo lineup Thursday after sitting out two games and Rasmus Asplund took his place as a healthy scratch. With 14 healthy forwards, Granato said his lineup decisions are not going to be punitive but simply forging a rotation so no forward sits for too long. Asplund had three assists and a plus-6 rating in the first six games.
"Everyone wants to create drama and ‘Oh my God, a healthy scratch,' " Granato said. "We have 23 players and 82 games. And our forwards are healthy right now, our defense is not. Because our forwards are healthy, we’re going to have a rotation. It’s not going to be, ‘You’re a healthy scratch and you’re not good enough or you screwed up last game.’ We’re healthy and somebody’s got to sit out."
Adams on Dahlin
Adams is just as impressed as any fan or NHL observer at Dahlin's fast start to the season, which included the NHL's First Star award last week after he set the league record for a defenseman by scoring in the first five games of the season.
"Watching him elevate has been really exciting," Adams said. "Not just what's being talked about, which is the production and the minutes, but his details, his willingness to play 200 feet, his competitiveness, his physicality. Those are all things that are taking steps, even from where he was at the end of last year. So it's really exciting. It's a great feather in his cap to have the way he started the season making history there, and then getting the First Star. It's really cool to see him progress."
Slafkovsky sits for Habs
The game could have featured three of the NHL's last five No. 1 overall draft picks but Montreal winger Juraj Slafkovsky, taken by the Habs in July at home in Bell Centre, missed his third straight game due to an upper-body injury.
Slafkovsky was injured in the Oct. 20 win over Arizona, a game in which he scored his first NHL goal. It is his lone point in five games thus far. The Sabres, of course, had the other two No. 1s in the game in Dahlin (2018) and Power (2021).
