Will Cozens and Samuelsson play this week? Updates on Sabres injuries
The Buffalo Sabres found themselves banged up last week following their 5-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, losing two primary players.
Last week, Mattias Samuelsson went down early in the Buffalo Sabres loss to the Philadelphia Flyers with a lower-body injury and ended up on injured reserve. The good news, however, is that Samuelsson shouldn’t miss an extended amount of time, though he likely won’t return this week if head coach Don Granato’s words ring true:
“We got good news … but he’s going to be out for a little bit,”
Source: Sabres hear ‘good news’ about Mattias Samuelsson’s injury; Ryan Johnson recalled from Amerks by Bill Hoppe, Buffalo Hockey Beat
Therefore, expect to see more of Ryan Johnson in a Sabres uniform. Johnson saw just 8:20 of ice time in his NHL debut, but he picked up a point, blocked four shots, recorded a takeaway, and finished with a plus-1. While it was an ultra-small sample size, Johnson gave the Sabres some excellent returns in Game 1 of what should be a long NHL career.
Will Dylan Cozens suit up for the Sabres this week?
Late in Friday night’s game vs. the Flyers, Dylan Cozens ended up in a fight against Garnet Hathaway, and it’s where he most likely sustained an injury that kept him out of Saturday’s win against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Cozens will most likely end up back in the lineup this week, if not tomorrow when the Sabres travel to Raleigh to face the Carolina Hurricanes.
Update on the Cozens situation as of Monday afternoon, per Lance Lysowski of Buffalo News.
Matt Savoie won't play Tuesday night in Carolina, said Sabres coach Don Granato.
— Lance Lysowski (@LLysowski) November 6, 2023
Dylan Cozens is trending in the right direction. Hope is that he can re-join the team for practice in a few days.
Meanwhile, Zach Benson and Eric Comrie remain week-to-week with lower-body injuries, so expect to see more of the prospects, perhaps even Matt Savoie, filling in for the former while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devon Levi continue manning the net. Despite a few hiccups, Luukkonen and Levi have played well in Comrie’s absence, with the latter making a return from his own injury this past Saturday.
Breaking down the Buffalo Sabres numbers since rough 0-2 start. light. Must Read
Overall, the Sabres, while banged up, have managed to avoid serious injuries. And so far, the stopgaps have played well, with Brandon Biro picking up a pair of goals on Wednesday, and Ryan Johnson’s performance mentioned earlier. If they keep this up over the next week or so, the Blue and Gold should remain afloat as November gains traction.
Source: Observations: Alex Tuch breaks through with two late goals as Sabres outlast Leafs by Mike Harrington, Buffalo News
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)