Buffalo hoping to beat Pacific bottom-dweller to even their record on their six-game homestand
The Buffalo Sabres were looking to get back to .500 when their six-game homestand began last week, but they have lost twice to Pacific Division foes Seattle and Vancouver, beating only Atlantic Division rival Ottawa 5-3 last Thursday. The Sabres are looking to rebound against the Pacific’s bottom-dweller, the San Jose Sharks on Monday afternoon, but will have to do it without one of their blueline mainstays.
The Sabres lost both defensemen Rasmus Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson in the second period of their 1-0 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday afternoon. Dahlin left the game after being on the receiving end of an elbow from Canucks forward JT Miller, while Samuelsson left the game on the opening shift of the middle frame.
Dahlin returned later in the game and will play against the Sharks, but Sabres head coach Don Granato indicated that Samuelsson will not play, but was hesitant to say whether he was still in concussion protocol.
"I don't know exactly what we term (Samuelsson's injury), other than upper body right now," Granato said. "We weren't in the building yesterday and we'll get more (information). This morning was all preparation for the game and now the medical team has time to reevaluate things. I'll get a report after the game."
The club recalled defenseman Kale Clague from AHL Rochester on Monday. The 25-year-old has 17 points (2 goals, 15 assists) in 31 games with the Amerks and played 33 games for the Sabres last season. With Clague’s recall, Buffalo had to make space on the 23-man roster and placed winger Jeff Skinner on injured reserve.
Skinner, who leads Buffalo with 17 goals, suffered an upper-body injury in the 5-2 loss to Seattle on January 9 and would be eligible to come off of IR later this week, but there has been no update on his status and he has not practiced since the injury.
LATEST THN BUFFALO STORIES