Mattias Samuelsson was back on the ice Wednesday, and that’s the encouraging part for the Buffalo Sabres as they prepare to open the season Thursday at 7 p.m. in Columbus. The downside: Jiri Kulich will not be available for that opener, and Jacob Bryson is also out.
Samuelsson skated in practice at KeyBank Center after missing time with a lower-body injury he sustained while blocking a shot in the second period of a 3-1 preseason win over Columbus on Sept. 24. Buffalo had planned to begin the season with seven defensemen, and that number had been trimmed by the injury situation.
Ruff said Samuelsson is “hopefuly, is an option” for the season opener against the Blue Jackets, but the defenseman stopped short of guaranteeing he’d play. “It feels good,” Samuelsson said of coming back to the ice.
“I feel like a broken record at this point, but it such the group. Fun to be back out there on the ice.”
He said he initially wanted to return after being hurt, then tried to push through with a couple more shifts, but it didn’t feel right. “I thought it was fine afterwards, and then I tried to play a couple more shifts and it didn’t feel great.
It was the preseason. I kind of just called it.
Got some more imaging done and it wasn’t too major.”
Ruff had previously described Samuelsson as “week to week,” but the defender said that timeline won’t last much longer. “This isn’t going to be that long,” Samuelsson said.
He also said the medical staff has done a strong job helping him work through the injury. “Doctors do your job and tell you, kind of, the appropriate timeline, but as athletes, you always try to make it a little shorter,” Samuelsson said.
“I think it was kind of one of those situations where if I felt like I was ready to play, I’d be back in the lineup. That’s what today was for, to see how I felt out there, and it went well.”
Samuelsson wasn’t ready to say if he would be good to go Thursday in Columbus, only that he wanted to see how his body responded overnight. “Looking good, but I guess we’ll see in the morning,” he said.
If Samuelsson is in the lineup at Columbus, Buffalo will open with one of its top defense pairs back together and its lead shot-blocker from last season. Samuelsson primarily worked with Rasmus Dahlin last season and also found some offensive touch, finishing with a career-best 13 goals, 26 assists and a plus-31 rating in 67 games.
On the other side of the injury ledger, Kulich remained out and won’t be in the lineup for the opener against Columbus. The Sabres could also call up a seventh defenseman from Rochester of the American Hockey League.
Samuelsson said the hardest part of the process is often the mental side once the pain starts to fade. “The easy part is actually dealing with the injury, and obviously we’ve got some pretty good medical staff,” Samuelsson said.
“They inste when you’re out and then coming back in a good headspace and not thinking about it. Just playing hockey.”
Alex Lyon, Tyson Kozak and Colten Ellis practiced Wednesday, but Bryson did not. Lyon is recovering from a left-arm injury he sustained Sept. 24 in a preseason game at Detroit.
“He’s feeling good,” Ruff said of Lyon. “It’d just be a matter of days before he’s back at it.”
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