Known more for landing on injured reserve than his offensive output, Mattias Samuelsson changed the narrative for an evening, connecting for one goal and an assist in what was a two-point night.
The performance now gives Samuelsson three goals on the year and eight total points in 31 contests, good for just over 0.25 points per game. This may not sound like a lot, but we know Samuelsson to be that throwback, old-school type of defenseman who can get in front of pucks and land those bone-crushing body checks.
Both of which probably explain why he’s had it rough during his stint as a full-time blueliner in this league. Hardly half a season goes by without an ailment or two holding back Samuelsson. But give him credit where it’s due: The Sabres had a bad night, but you can’t pin the loss on Samuelsson.
Does this mean Samuelsson’s suddenly a two-way player who I’d like to see stick around in Buffalo? He’ll need to impress me a lot more than he has. But it shows us that he can be resilient and package together some solid performances every now and again.
Mattias Samuelsson at least made the Sabres look respectable in loss
Samuelsson scored one goal and contributed to the other in the Sabres 5-2 loss, making him one of the most impactful players of the evening when Buffalo had the puck. Further, his goal and helper now give Samuelsson three points in the past five games.
As for goals, he just reached a new season-best with three and has found the net more in 2024-25 than in each of his previous seasons combined. If Samuelsson can snag another three points in the remaining games this season, he’ll also hit a new career-high in the category. There’s also a good chance he’ll wind up snagging a single-season best in shooting percentage, which is currently at 9.4 percent.
It’ll be fun to see if Samuelsson can keep this momentum going, if he can stay healthy, and maybe even develop a little more of a two-way game from here on out. We may be over halfway through the 2024-25 season, but there’s a lot of hockey left to play, so Samuelsson’s contributions may not be finished just yet.
He might just get another chance on Saturday night when the Sabres face Jeff Skinner and the Edmonton Oilers. With the sense of urgency higher than ever, now would be a great time for Samuelsson to enjoy an encore performance.