The Buffalo Sabres return to the ice tonight to face-off against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
For four of their next five games, the Buffalo Sabres will have home-ice advantage. Adding to the advantage, they’re also facing manageable competition against the Montreal Canadians, Ottawa Senators, and New York Islanders, before a final homestand against the mighty Colorado Avalanche.
The Sabres can get back on track with a string of wins. And now that it seems their injury bug is easing some, they will be closer to full strength during this next slate of games than they have been in nearly a month.
Buffalo Sabres latest roster moves, injuries, and predictions
On Tuesday, the Sabres recalled two rising stars in Peyton Krebs and Mattias Samuelsson from the Rochester Americans. Krebs has gotten hot as of late, with four points in his previous five starts. Samuelsson provides an outstanding physical presence, landing 12 hits in eight appearances this season.
Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen practiced with the Sabres on Tuesday for the first time since a lower body injury sidelined him on January 11th. Luukkonen was a full participant and the Sabres have since listed him as day-to-day.
While the Sabres can send Luukkonen back to Rochester if they decide to hang onto Dustin Tokarski and the 40-year-old Craig Anderson, expect Luukkonen to return to the NHL level at some point. Especially if they decide to move Anderson before the trade deadline.
Vinnie Hinostroza also returned to practice on Tuesday, taking part in non-contact drills. He did not finish the skate, however, his return to practice shows he could be closing in on a full return to the ice.
Bold Prediction: Rasmus Dahlin picks up where he left off during the All-Star Game and contributes two points in a nail-biter against the Blue Jackets. Look for Tage Thompson to score once, along with Alex Tuch.
(All statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)