Zellweger Concussed, Samuelsson Injured In Win Over Columbus

One of the keys to the Buffalo Sabres ending their long playoff drought last season was that they stayed relatively healthy during the regular season, but the club may have reasons for concern after losing a pair of defensemen in the preseason home opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.

Blueliner Olin Zellweger left the game in the second period after being checked by Columbus defenseman Carson Soucy, while Samuelsson left the game after blocking a shot midway through the middle frame. 

“Samuelsson  will  be  further  evaluated." Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said after the game. "Zellweger has a concussion, we'll see how  bad  that  is (on Wednesday) ......(Soucy's  elbow was  down.  I  think (Olin)  just  got  caught  admiring  his  pass,  and  I  think  the  shoulder  got him  right  on  the  chin.  I  don't  think  that  part  hurt  him,   I  think when  he  fell, it  looked  to  me  like  he  might  have  banged  his  head  on  the ice." 

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Last season, the club lost Jiri Kulich to a blood clot issue in November, but after that, the only significant absence was center Josh Norris for two months after being injured in the season opener. On defense, Michael Kesselring struggled with lower body issues all season, and Conor Timmins suffered a broken leg, but the club’s top-four remained intact. 

In goal, every time either Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen or Alex Lyon were injured, the other was there to pick up the slack, and rookie Colten Ellis was a reliable third-stringer who stepped up into the backup role when needed.     

Zellweger was acquired from Anaheim and has been slotted in as the replacement for Bowen Byram on the second pairing with Owen Power. Samuelsson was arguably the Sabres most consistent defenseman last season, and had a career year offensively, nearly doubling his career total in goals in one season with 13, but he also avoided injury issues for the first time, playing a career-high 78 games and all 13 playoff games, partnering with Rasmus Dahlin. 

A loss of either or both blueliners would be extremely impactful for Buffalo to start the season. Ruff is expected to provide an update on Zellweger and Samuelsson after practice on Wednesday.  

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