BUFFALO, N.Y. — A few days before the Buffalo Sabres’ season started in Prague, I was talking to Dylan Cozens about their newly assembled fourth line. General manager Kevyn Adams brought in Beck Malenstyn, Sam Lafferty and Nicolas Aube-Kubel to help establish a fast and physical identity in the bottom six. New coach Lindy Ruff compared the group to a running game in football, capable of wearing down teams with a consistent forecheck.
Expectations were so high that Cozens had this to say: “I’ve loved watching those guys play. They all just fly up and down the ice and blow guys up. They really have an identity. It’s awesome to watch, and I can’t wait to see them play against real NHL teams here and just roll over them. They all love what they do, and it’s going to be so fun to watch them roll over guys, buzz up and down the ice and be hard to play against. I would not want to play against them.”
That never came to fruition. Monday, the Sabres waived Aube-Kubel, who played only 19 of Buffalo’s first 49 games and had only one goal and one assist. Aube-Kubel played just over five minutes in his first game with the Sabres before suffering a knee injury that kept him out for weeks. He came back earlier than the Sabres expected but wasn’t quite himself.
“Admittedly, he said to me that he felt good but didn’t feel he skated as well as he did,” Ruff said Tuesday. “I thought through camp he really skated well. But coming back, it just didn’t seem like he was catching any traction.”
Aube-Kubel, who signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract in the summer, ended up out of the lineup as a healthy scratch even once the injury had fully healed. Ruff said the recent play of Jiri Kulich made the Sabres want to keep him on the roster. Jordan Greenway is also getting closer to returning from his injury. And Tyson Kozak played well enough during his most recent call-up that the Sabres wanted to get him back in the NHL.
This isn’t an ideal outcome, but the injury is a bit of bad luck that’s tough to ignore. Part of what Aube-Kubel was supposed to bring to the table was speed. He showed it in training camp and the preseason, but he was playing with a knee brace when he returned from injury. The same juice he had in September never fully returned. He had some encouraging moments but wasn’t consistent enough.
Aube-Kubel passed through waivers and will now play in Rochester.
Lafferty has also struggled to make an impact. He’s signed for another season after this one at $2 million, and he too missed time with an injury earlier this season. But Tuesday, Ruff put Kozak back in the lineup and scratched Lafferty. This isn’t the vision the Sabres had for the fourth line at the start of the season, and it’s one of many reasons they haven’t been able to climb out of the basement in the Eastern Conference.
Teammates congratulate JJ Peterka on a third-period goal en route to a hat trick against the Boston Bruins. (Timothy T. Ludwig / Imagn Images)
1. Tage Thompson’s hat trick was the highlight of the Sabres’ 7-2 win against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday. Thompson is up to 25 goals and 44 points in 45 games this season. While that’s still off his 97-point pace from two seasons ago, it’s a welcome sight to see him dominate a game like this. He has more than carried his weight despite the team’s struggles.
Moving to wing while Kulich centers the top line has helped take some of the defensive responsibility off his plate while he has played through an injury. But it could be a permanent change.
“Playing center, it’s a bigger responsibility,” Ruff said. “He’s coming up the ice a little later. And when I look at what he was generating, and now what he’s generating just playing the wing and letting (Kulich) do the work, it only makes sense just to leave him there. And the fact that he got three tonight should help me talk him into it.”
Thompson said his main focus has been being adaptable regardless of the position he’s playing or the linemates he’s had. He has adapted well to playing on a line with Kulich and JJ Peterka, who had a hat trick of his own against the Bruins.
One of Peterka’s goals was an empty-netter, but the other two were for the highlight reel. His first goal came on a perfect wrist shot off the rush. On his second goal, he split a pair of defensemen and beat Jeremy Swayman while making an off-balance shot. Thompson and Peterka became the first Sabres teammates to score hat tricks in the same game since Drew Stafford and Derek Roy against the Atlanta Thrashers on Jan. 18, 2008.
2. Given the work Kulich has done at five-on-five, it seems like only a matter of time before he gets a promotion to the Sabres’ top power-play unit. Kulich has been working on the second unit, but Buffalo’s top power play hasn’t been impressive. Kulich’s shot made him a dominant player with the man advantage in the AHL.
Ruff said he has already seen him adjust to needing to score from different spots on the ice. That showed when he scored just after a power play expired against the Edmonton Oilers over the weekend. Ruff thinks the other players on that unit could look for Kulich more because he’s getting open. Putting him in Jack Quinn’s place on the first unit could help that group.
3. The St. Louis Blues waived Brandon Saad on Tuesday, and he could appeal to the Sabres. The 32-year-old is under contract through next season with a $4.5 million cap hit. That’s a lot for a player who has taken a step back this season, but he brings a hard-nosed playing style the Sabres could use more of.
He has also won two Stanley Cups, and his experience would be a welcome addition. The Sabres have enough cap space to take a chance on him.
