Sabres’ Jacob Bryson dazzles in return to lineup: ‘Played a fearless game’

BUFFALO – Four minutes into Saturday’s second period, Sabres defenseman Jacob Bryson zoomed into the left corner in the Montreal zone and made quick work of Jake Evans, blocking his clearing attempt before outworking him for the puck.

Bryson knew a teammate had covered his position, so he skated behind the net and fed winger Alex Tuch, who beat Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes to tie the game at 1.

In his first action in 21 days, Bryson utilized his greatest strength, his skating, to move aggressively all over the ice in the Sabres’ 4-2 loss in KeyBank Center.

“He’s got a tremendous set of legs to get up ice,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said following Sunday’s practice in LECOM Harborcenter.

Ruff said he had never seen Bryson, 27, so involved.

“I thought tonight he played a fearless game,” Ruff said after Bryson’s 34th appearance this season. “He wanted to get involved, he wanted to make a difference, and he was making a difference in the game.”

Bryson, a healthy scratch the previous three games, will likely play again Monday in Montreal when the Sabres and Canadiens close their home-and-home series

Ruff said when the Sabres went through four-on-for drills Sunday, no one could get by the 5-foot-9, 177-pound Bryson, one of the NHL’s smallest defensemen.

“His tracking and his leg work, getting up and back, is excellent,” he said. “So there’s no reason he can’t be involved offensively.”

Still, Ruff said Bryson sometimes “holds back a little bit.” Depth players moving in and out of the lineup often like to play it safe.

Bryson, who skated alongside Connor Clifton on Saturday, also acknowledged the Sabres have been burned on some plays similar to the goal he created.

“So it’s kind of tough, those 50-50 pucks where you’re not 100 percent sure,” he said. “I feel like better safe than sorry. But at the same time, feel like when we play aggressive and we are pinching and stuff, I feel like that’s when we’re making the most turnovers and playing the best hockey. So I feel like we can all probably be aggressive, and myself, for sure.”

Bryson, who sat out the first 11 games this season, has thrived over the years because he embraces the difficult job of often being an extra defender. He considers it a skill to sit out for long stretches as a healthy scratch and rejoin the lineup ready to contribute.

On Saturday, he said he “was fresh.”

“That was the first game since after break, so I feel like my legs were there,” he said. “It’s kind of just nice going in there, I feel like nothing to close, and just try to play my game. That’s what I always try to do when I get back in the lineup in those situations.”

Back when division rivals like the Sabres and Canadiens played each other eight or six times a season, home-and-home series were common.

These days, with 32 teams and two games against each out-of-conference opponent, they’re pretty rare.

Other than the Sabres’ season-opening “home-and-home” set against the New Jersey Devils in Czechia, this will be their first this season.

The Canadiens are 3-0-0 against the Sabres this season. In Buffalo’s last visit to Montreal on Dec. 16, the Canadiens throttled them 6-1.

Ruff, whose Sabres return home Tuesday to host the San Jose Sharks, said goalies Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and James Reimer will both play over the next two games.

The coach said he and his staff had to discuss who would start Monday.

Sabres winger Jason Zucker (lower body) did not practice Sunday.