Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Jeremy Swayman are expected to face off in goal of Boston - Buffalo series on Sunday
The Buffalo Sabres practiced at KeyBank Center on Saturday in preparation for their first playoff series since 2011, and had nearly a full complement of players. Sabres Buffalo goalie Alex Lyon took to the ice for the first time in over a week and according to head coach Lindy Ruff, he would be available for the start of the series against the Boston Bruins on Sunday night.
Lyon suffered a lower-body injury at practice in New York prior to their win over the Rangers on April 8 and third-stringer Colten Ellis stepped in for two starts in the final week of the regular season. Ellis also suffered an unspecified injury at the end of the season, but Ruff indicated that both netminders were ready to go.
Goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was in the home goal during the morning workout, giving a preliminary indication that the big Finn will be the Sabres starter in Game 1.
Ostlund last played in the 4-3 overtime loss to the Bruins on March 25 and missed the final three weeks of the season with an upper-body injury, but Ruff was optimistic about the rookie’s chances of returning to the lineup in the near future.
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"It's his first day back with us. We're going to get him involved in a little bit of physical contact and see where he's at. He has been skating. We've just been trying to get him to that next level (and) today was that next level," Ruff said. "We'll see how he feels after taking faceoffs and being involved in practice and (he's) definitely a possibility, I don't know for game one, but he is right there knocking on the door now."
Ruff also reacted to the comments of Bruins head coach Marco Sturm, that his club is bigger, stronger, and more physical and that Boston’s game plan is to go after the Sabres.
"That's his take on his team. I have a lot of respect for what our team has done and how we play and the speed we play the game," Ruff said. "They've got a good team. They know who they are, and we know who we are."
The Bruins have been a physical team all season, and will likely be targeting their forechecking on Buffalo’s key players: centers Tage Thompson, Josh Norris, and winger Alex Tuch up front, and Rasmus Dahlin and Bowen Byram on the back end. Boston will likely look to match up veteran Pavel Zacha and Elias Lindholm against the Sabres top two lines centered by Thompson and Norris, while relying on their heavy forecheck and hard-hitting blueliners Charlie McAvoy to lay the body on Buffalo forwards. The series may come down what playoff series always come down to; special teams and which goaltender will perform better under pressure.
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