Mattias Samuelsson played through injuries in his quest to push Sabres into playoffs

He couldn’t press his palm against an opponent without experiencing anguish. Using his left hand for anything on the ice caused intense discomfort at times.

Samuelsson, a shutdown defenseman for the Buffalo Sabres, told reporters following his exit meeting Sunday in KeyBank Center that he played with multiple broken bones in his left hand over the past few weeks.

It wasn’t the only reason why he sat the final two games, though.

A sprained MCL also factored into the decision to end Samuelsson’s season when the Sabres were officially eliminated from playoff contention with a 6-2 loss in New Jersey in Game 80.

“I mean, that's hockey, really,” said Samuelsson. “You kind of expect it, especially the style of game I play. I know I'm going to be pretty banged up and I had a broken hand there at the end. It's still broken in a couple spots, so shooting the puck wasn't very fun sometimes, but you're down the stretch. That's where you want to be playing. Those are the games that matter and those are the fun times. 

“Obviously, I haven't played playoff hockey in the NHL, but that felt like playoffs or as close as it gets to it. Those are the fun ones, so I was fine with it.”

Injury prevention was one of the topics discussed during Samuelsson’s exit meetings with coach Don Granato and General Manager Kevyn Adams. Samuelsson, 23, plans to re-evaluate his offseason training after missing 27 games because of different injuries during his first full season in the NHL. The reality is there’s not much that can be done about the type of setbacks he experienced.

There were no soft-tissue injuries. He missed time because he plays a heavy, physical game and his role calls for blocking shots. Samuelsson missed 13 games after suffering a knee injury on a routine play along the wall in Vancouver on Oct. 22. He sat twice for different minor ailments at other times this season, then there was his eight-game absence as the Sabres were falling out of playoff contention in March.

The Sabres need Samuelsson in the lineup more often next season. They were 33-18-4 with him and 9-15-3 without him. His immediate impact when joining the club full-time in January 2022 led Adams to sign Samuelsson to a seven-year contract extension on the eve of this season’s opening night.

Samuelsson finished this season with two goals and 10 points with a plus-14 rating while averaging 22:11 of ice time across 55 games. He's far from satisfied, though.

“Overall, I'm happy with my year,” he said. “I feel like I established myself as an NHL player, as a top-pair guy, but at the same time, I feel like I still have so much more to learn and so much more to get better at it.”

Samuelsson never will be classified as an offensive defenseman, but he has the athleticism and on-ice instincts to make a difference when the Sabres have the puck. He typically excels on the breakout, snapping tape-to-tape outlet passes to spring teammates for scoring chances. But he feels there’s more he can accomplish because Rasmus Dahlin draws defenders to his side of the ice.

Taking advantage of the extra room will require Samuelsson to find a balance between pushing to help the Sabres score and staying in position to get back if they turn the puck over. His responsible defensive game is one of the reasons why he has been an ideal partner for Dahlin over the past year.

The duo saw more ice time than all but one defense pair on the Sabres this season, and it had a plus-8 rating when together at 5-on-5, despite playing against the opponent’s top forwards each game.

Samuelsson smiled when asked Sunday about his chemistry with Dahlin, dismissing the notion that he makes the job any easier for his remarkably talented partner. He calls Dahlin the best defenseman in the NHL and insists that’s why they’ve had success since playing together last spring.

Dahlin has a different view. Following a 15-goal, 73-point season, Dahlin told reporters that Samuelsson has played a prominent role in his improvement as an all-around defenseman.

“He makes me a better player,” said Dahlin. “And team-wise, too. He logs a lot of minutes, and he plays important situations. He’s an unbelievable D partner to me. He keeps it so simple. He defends very well, but he can do stuff offensively too. I feel like he’s got it all. When he’s in the lineup it’s more confidence in the whole group, I feel like, especially for myself too.”

Samuelsson is still bitter about the season ending. He referred to the Sabres’ potential as “scary,” but admitted it’s difficult thinking about what could have been. Two more points and Buffalo would be experiencing playoff hockey for the first time since 2011.

He joked that he’ll want to resume playing as soon as next week, though the injuries will force him to take time off before he begins his offseason training at the Flyers’ practice facility near his family’s home in New Jersey.

Despite the injuries, Samuelsson thought the final games of the season were among his best in the NHL. His confidence was evident in every area of his game. The Sabres outscored opponents 9-4 when he was on the ice at 5-on-5 when he helped them win five of seven games before Granato and Adams chose to shut him down for the season. Samuelsson averaged 24:07 of ice time, blocked 11 shots, led the team in hits and no one played more on the penalty kill during that span.

Jack Quinn, a teammate of Samuelsson’s during their time in Rochester, told reporters that no one on the Sabres noticed a difference in the defenseman while he was playing through those injuries and beamed when asked about his impact.

“I mean, he's a stud,” said Quinn. “I think it's pretty clear like when he's in the lineup, we're a different team.”