Jordan Greenway is set to make his return to the Buffalo Sabres lineup after a long recovery from injury. The forward had surgery in December 2024 and, after an unsuccessful attempt to come back in February, underwent another procedure in July that kept him out of training camp and preseason activities.
Greenway has been practicing with the team for several weeks and is expected to play on Thursday against Boston. Reflecting on his rehabilitation process, Greenway said, “It’s always good to go back to Boston; I enjoy it. But I could be playing anywhere – I’m pretty pumped to play tomorrow.”
The 28-year-old described the rehab as one of the most frustrating experiences of his decade-long NHL career. He acknowledged he has sometimes rushed previous returns but said this injury required more patience.
“There’ll definitely be some rust tomorrow, I’m anticipating, in terms of timing, this and that, but the practices that I’ve had, the progression that we’ve done, definitely help,” Greenway said.
During Wednesday’s practice at KeyBank Center, Greenway centered a line with Jack Quinn and Jason Zucker. Noah Ostlund moved to an extra forward position. Although Greenway has mostly played as a winger during his career, he also saw time at center last season. Coach Lindy Ruff highlighted how players like Greenway add flexibility to the roster.
“Well, my conditioning will come back probably a little bit quicker, which is nice,” Greenway said about returning as a center. “There’s definitely positives to me going in and playing center right out of the gate. It’ll help me be moving more; (as a) winger, you can come back in the D zone and be a little bit more stagnant.”
Greenway’s return is expected to bolster Buffalo’s penalty kill unit, which currently leads the NHL with a 91.2 percent success rate this season. Ruff compared Greenway’s penalty-killing skills to those of Alex Tuch.
“We know what he brings,” Ruff said of Greenway. “Great skater, heavy on the puck. I think another guy that can be real strong on pucks down low, give us more O-zone time.
“He’s had a lot of time off. I don’t think it’s going to be easy stepping in, but I think he’ll make an impact for us.”
The Sabres’ third line—Josh Doan, Ryan McLeod and Alex Tuch—has been one of the league’s most effective units since October 15 against Ottawa. According to MoneyPuck statistics for lines with over 62 minutes together at five-on-five play, they lead all NHL lines in both expected goals per 60 minutes (4.91) and actual goals per 60 minutes (6.75). Defensively they have allowed relatively few shot attempts among comparable lines.
Coach Ruff praised their performance following Tuesday night’s game against Columbus: “They’re getting pucks to the net… Their zone play, and getting screens and people around the net, they’ve been our best line of doing that.”
The fourth line also made an impact during Tuesday’s game by containing Columbus’ top scorers and maintaining offensive pressure throughout their shifts. Josh Dunne scored his first NHL goal during this stretch and credited his linemates for their support: “That’s my identity as a player: puck protecting and [using] my strengths and [using] my body… So I think that’s something I can bring and offer…”
Buffalo will face Boston next with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m., having earned points in six out of their last seven games.
