The Buffalo Sabres had one of their best defensive performances against the Florida Panthers and what made it even more impressive was that they had to do it short-handed. Jacob Bryson suffered an injury early in the first period and was forced to miss the remainder of the game.
After the game, head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed that Bryson is in the concussion protocol, which means he likely will miss at least the game Monday against the Montreal Canadiens, and possibly longer.
The Sabres will now need to figure out how to replace Bryson in the lineup, and these are three options the team has looking ahead.
3 options for the Buffalo Sabres to replace Jacob Bryson in the lineup
Michael Kesselring
In an ideal situation, the Buffalo Sabres would be able to get Michael Kesselring on the ice. He suffered an injury during the preseason and has yet to make his regular season debut.
The good news is that Kesselring had a rehab skate on Friday and looks like he is getting closer. However, the bad news is that he probably isn't close enough to make his debut on Monday and might need a few practices before he is ready for a game.
Ryan Johnson
Another option would be Ryan Johnson, who began the season with the Buffalo Sabres but was sent down to the AHL last week.
He would play in three games, but averaged only 9 minutes of ice time per game, and the Sabres struggled to control the puck when he was on the ice. This season, he has a career-worst Relative CF% at -7.2 after -4.2 in three games last season.
The Sabres might want to go with Johnson for the experience but it might make more sense going with one of the younger players to see how they do.
Zach Metsa
When the Sabres sent Johnson down to Rochester, they called up defenseman Zach Metsa who has been with the organization since the 2022-23 season. He has played in 125 regular season games and 26 playoff games for the Amerks but has yet to make his NHL debut.
Metsa isn't the biggest defenseman at 5'9" but is a smart player with a good offensive skill set after 70 points in 125 regular season games. There was a reason that the Sabres brought up Metsa and sent Ryan Johnson down last week before Bryson's injury. It is worth seeing what he can do in the game Monday and hopefully have Kesselring back for the game Wednesday against Detroit.