Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato announced that forward Alex Tuch and defenseman Mattias Samuelsson are good to go for tonight’s matchup against the Colorado Avalanche. Samuelsson did not play in the Monday evening game against the Arizona Coyotes due to soreness. Tuch had been out of the Sabres’ lineup since December 3 due to a hamstring injury. Coincidentally, his wife gave birth to a son during the time he was sidelined with the injury.
Tuch said it was “weirdly good timing” for his wife to give birth when he was injured, “It’s never a good time to get injured, but if I’m going to get injured and be able to 100 percent be there for the birth of my son, I’ll take it. It was a special moment, first born, I’ve heard a lot of stories. I didn’t really know what to expect. All I can say is my wife is a warrior, 27 hours of labor and ended up having an emergency C-section. Never know what’s going to happen when you go in there. She was unbelievable.”
The additions of Samuelsson and Tuch to the lineup are a big deal for the Sabres and their playoff chances this season. Through 22 games, Tuch scored eight goals and 17 points, while Samuelsson provided a steady force on the back-end.
The Sabres currently sit in seventh-place in the Atlantic Division and rank dead last in points percentage. Their record of 12-14-3 is nowhere near where they wanted to be at this point in the season and they’re running out of time to turn it around. Buffalo was just one point out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference last season and it would not look good for them to take a step back this year. It will be a challenge to turn this around, but Tuch and Samuelsson are great players to have in their lineup for that.
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