Three players for the Buffalo Sabres—Zach Benson, Jordan Greenway, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen—returned to practice at KeyBank Center on Tuesday after being sidelined by injuries. This development comes as the team has been dealing with six injured players.
Coach Lindy Ruff indicated that Benson could make his season debut against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday. Benson had missed time after taking a puck to the cheek during practice last week, which led to a hospital visit. He returned to skating on his own before joining team practice in a non-contact jersey and wearing a full bubble visor for protection.
“It wasn’t super alarming or concerning, but you’re staying the night in the hospital, you’re seeing life from a different perspective,” Benson said. He added, “I’m pretty fired up to get going. The energy around the room, I think we’re all excited to get going tomorrow and fired up to get off this losing skid and get some good vibes going around this barn.”
Luukkonen participated in team drills for the first time since leaving his only preseason game due to a lower-body injury. The goaltender explained that while it was similar to an earlier issue, it was not the same injury. “It’s kind of in a similar spot, but different thing, I would say,” he said. Luukkonen may require a rehab stint with the Rochester Americans (AHL) before returning fully.
During Luukkonen’s absence, Alex Lyon has taken over starting duties and posted strong numbers early in the season. “He has played unbelievable,” Luukkonen said about Lyon’s performance. “It’s been fun to watch. He’s older than I am, but he reminds me of the older guys who we had here…with how well he reads the game. He has that poise and calmness in his game, and it’s been fun to watch. He has helped the team a lot.”
Greenway also practiced for the first time since surgery in July. He wore a non-contact jersey while participating in line rushes and described his return as an important milestone after missing most of last season due to injury.
“It’s been, mentally, probably the most frustrating thing that I’ve been through in my career,” Greenway said about his recovery process. “But the only thing I can do is go out here, do the rehab, do what I need to do to get back on the ice, and that’s where my head’s at right now.” He added: “At this point, I think I’ve gotten everything fixed, so I’m just going with ‘I’m going to be the Terminator when I get back.’ I don’t know what else can go down for me.”
Ruff noted that Greenway will need several more practices before rejoining games.
Defenseman Michael Kesselring is also making progress following a lower-body injury sustained earlier this month. Ruff commented: “When he returns to skate, I don’t think is that far off…But he’s doing pretty good, so that’s encouraging.”
In other lineup changes from Tuesday’s practice session, Jiri Kulich skated with extra forwards instead of centering one of the top three lines as he had previously done. Ruff critiqued Kulich’s recent play: “It hasn’t been good enough, really,” adding that Kulich needs improvement in multiple areas including skating and playmaking.
The Sabres are scheduled to play their next game at home against Ottawa on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
