Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said there's still "no real update" on defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, who suffered an upper-body injury in Monday's win over the Florida Panthers. The captain missed Tuesday's shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens and Ruff labeled him "doubtful" for Thursday's road game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
It was one of three injury updates delivered by Ruff on Wednesday morning during an appearance on WGR 550 Radio.
The longtime NHL coach also noted goalie Alex Lyon (upper body) suffered a slight setback and will remain off the ice "for a few days."
In addition, forward Tyson Kozak (upper body) was sent back to Buffalo for further evaluation.
That trio is joined by defensemen Conor Timmins (lower body) and Matt Grzelcyk (lower body) as well as forward Jason Zucker (hernia surgery) among the Sabres' injuries in the early going.
The ailments have forced Ruff to frequently juggle his forward lines and defense pairs during the club's 3-3-1 start, which includes a shootout loss to the Habs on Tuesday night. The Blue and Gold did erase a 3-1 deficit with a pair of third-period goals to secure a point in that rematch from the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Let's dive into the newest edition of our Sabres player grades series in wake of the defeat by Montreal.
Buffalo Sabres overcome horrible second period to earn a point vs. Montreal Canadiens
Sabres Player Grades
Player | Grade (1-10) |
|---|---|
Olen Zellweger | 8.5 |
Zach Benson | 8 |
Mattias Samuelsson | 7.5 |
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 7.5 |
Jack Quinn | 7 |
Beck Malenstyn | 7 |
Josh Norris | 7 |
Noah Ostlund | 6.5 |
Owen Power | 6 |
Dennis Gilbert | 6 |
Justin Danforth | 5.5 |
Tage Thompson | 5 |
Louis Crevier | 5 |
Josh Doan | 4.5 |
Jiri Kulich | 4 |
Konsta Helenius | 3.5 |
Zach Metsa | 3.5 |
Ryan McLeod | 3 |
Peyton Krebs | 2.5 |
Buffalo Player of the Game: Olen Zellweger
In our review of Monday's triumph over the Panthers, we wrote: "Olen Zellweger has just one point in five games, but his puck play has been as advertised and the production should follow soon enough."
Well, "soon enough" was one day later.
Zellweger took on a larger role in Dahlin's absence, receiving nearly 26 minutes of ice time, and he responded with two goals, four shots, a hit and a blocked shot. His high-end skating ability has started to shine through after he missed the start of the campaign while in concussion protocol.
Neither goal against the Habs will probably end up on the season-ending highlight reel, but he did exactly what Ruff was asking for: create space in the offensive zone and get the puck to the net. The Sabres have been over-passing quite a bit through the first six games.
Zellweger will continue to fill a crucial spot on the depth chart until Dahlin returns.
Sabres Quick Hits
- Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen may be settling in after a horrible start to the season. He stopped 48 of 52 shots (.923 save percentage) over the past two days. He did struggle in the shootout, however, as Montreal converted all three of its shot attempts.
- Josh Norris scored his first goal of the campaign but has still been mostly skating on the fourth line in 5-on-5 situations.
- Although the point totals aren't overly impressive, Zach Benson and Noah Ostlund keep doing the little things to help keep the Sabres competitive.
- A solid season debut for Dennis Gilbert.
- Jiri Kulich and Konsta Helenius have been quiet since Saturday's stint as healthy scratches.
- Buffalo and Toronto are set for a 7 p.m. ET faceoff Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena with the teams sporting identical 3-3-1 records.
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