The Buffalo Sabres have taken quite the hit to their lineup, as Rasmus Dahlin is day-to-day and Mattias Samuelsson & Eric Comrie are week-to-week with injuries.
Both Dahlin and Samuelsson played the entirety of Saturday afternoon’s 2-1 overtime loss to the New York Rangers, so it’s unclear as to what caused their injuries. Both defensemen were held pointless in the game, with Dahlin registering two shots, a hit, and two blocked shots in 27:01 of ice time, while Samuelsson had two shots, two hits, and five blocked shots in 22:17 of ice time.
It’s a tough loss as both make up the Sabres top pairing, or a least what has been their top pair for a majority of the season. Sabres head coach Don Granato said that if Dahlin were to also miss Monday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, they would be going with a defense lineup of Owen Power, Henri Jokiharju, Riley Stillman, Ilya Lyubushkin, Jacob Bryson, and Kale Clague, but Dahlin hasn’t been ruled out just yet.
Dahlin is the bigger blow of the two, so if you had to pick one to be day-to-day, it’d likely be him. He’s had an incredible year for the Sabres, already setting new career-highs in goals with 14, assists with 49, and points with 63, and sits third in the NHL in scoring amongst defenseman.
Losing Samuelsson for a longer period of time still hurts the Sabres though, as Samuelsson is one of the team’s most effective defensive defensemen. His one goal, seven assists, and eight points in 48 games aren’t mind-blowing, but his 2.82 5v5 expected goals against per 60 minutes ranks third on the team among regular defensemen.
The Sabres are also losing Comrie, who is week-to-week with a lower-body injury. It’s unclear as to when the injury occurred, but Comrie was scratched for Saturday afternoon’s game after allowing 10 goals on 49 shots to the Dallas Stars on Thursday. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Craig Anderson were in the lineup for Saturday’s game instead, with Luukkonen stopping 24 of 26 shots in the loss.
Comrie got off to a solid start as a starter in Buffalo, but injuries and recent struggles have mostly slowed that down. He has an 8-9-0 record with an .877 save percentage and -13.02 5v5 goals saved above expected in 17 games this season.
There is some good news for the Sabres, as winger Alex Tuch is back practicing with the team. He’s been out of the lineup since February 24th with a lower-body injury. He has 28 goals, 34 assists, and 62 points in 57 games this season for the Sabres.
More must-reads: