Monday’s matinee against the Montreal Canadiens saw Tage Thompson, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and Mattias Samuelsson leave the game for the Buffalo Sabres with injury. The three players were absent from practice on Wednesday, following a day off on Tuesday.
Head coach Lindy Ruff spoke after practice, updating us on the status of the trio of Sabres.
“Just both day-to-day,” Ruff said about Thompson and Luukkonen’s injury timeline. “Both are possibilities for Thursday.”
Tage Thompson Injury
The news is a relief to the Sabres and fans. Tage Thompson had been dominant before the injury this season. Thompson scored a goal in the first period against Montreal, giving him 11 goals and 18 points in 16 games this season. His 10 even-strength goals are tied for first in the NHL along with Leon Draisaitl and Nikita Kucherov.
Here’s how the Sabres forwards lined up in his absence:
Zach Benson – Ryan McLeod – Alex Tuch
JJ Peterka – Dylan Cozens – Jack Quinn
Jordan Greenway – Peyton Krebs – Jason Zucker
Beck Malenstyn – Sam Lafferty – Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Thompson being a possibility for Thursday is great news, but, interestingly, Ruff shuffled things quite a bit with the lines. Usually, a player would serve as a placeholder in Thompson’s spot if the Sabres were confident he’d be back from injury. Instead, Buffalo promoted center Ryan McLeod to the top six and flopped Zach Benson and JJ Peterka.
It indicates that the Sabres are preparing as if Thompson will not play against the St. Louis Blues, rather than assuming he’ll return from injury after two days of rest and healing.
More: Video of Tage Thompson Injury
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen Injury
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was also surging before tweaking something in practice on Sunday. He got the nod anyway in net versus the Canadiens but was pulled in favor of Devon Levi to begin the third period. Ruff declared postgame that he believed the ailment was deterring his play, which was the reason for replacing him.
An emergency fill-in took the place of Luukkonen in the usual starter’s net in practice. If Luukkonen isn’t deemed healthy enough to even back up Levi on Thursday, Buffalo will have to make a roster move to bring in a goalie.
Notably, James Reimer, who was with the Sabres in training camp, was placed on waivers by the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. Reimer is likely on Buffalo’s radar for a claim, as organizational third goalie Felix Sandstrom was injured in Rochester. Any waiver claims will be announced Wednesday afternoon.
Mattias Samuelsson Injury
Mattias Samuelsson’s injury fate was not as optimistic, as Ruff said it is “weeks”, not days, that the defenseman will miss. The Sabres’ alternate captain has an unfortunate injury history, and this is just the latest case.
Here’s how Buffalo lined up on defense without Samuelsson:
Rasmus Dahlin – Bowen Byram
Owen Power – Jacob Bryson
Dennis Gilbert – Connor Clifton / Henri Jokiharju
Ruff has indicated in the past that he prefers lefty-righty combinations on his defense pairs. That makes it unlikely both Connor Clifton and Henri Jokiharju play against the Blues.
That indicates Dennis Gilbert will get another shot in the lineup after being a healthy scratch. He took three penalties against the Calgary Flames on Saturday, but the Sabres are notably 4-0-0 with him in the lineup.
