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Just as the Buffalo Sabres began to create meaningful forward progress in 2024-25, the injury bug hit. The Sabres will be without both star forward Tage Thompson and starting goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in a cross-conference clash against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night.
“Both guys are doing good but will not play,” head coach Lindy Ruff said after the morning skate, per NHL.com's Heather Engel.”[Luukkonen] had a good day today. I'm anticipating if not Saturday, he's ready for the next game.”
More concerningly, defenseman Mattias Samuelsson will be out for multiple weeks after suffering a lower-body injury in a 7-5 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Monday afternoon.
“It's not something that's going to be the whole year,” Ruff said, confirming that the Swede is expected to be back before the regular-season concludes. “And right now it doesn't look like something that he has to be operated on.”
Samuelsson was scratched for three straight games but returned to the lineup against Montreal at KeyBank Center on Monday. He “got tangled up with Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky in a scrum at the front of the net and fell to the ice” before leaving the game in the second period, per Engel.
In his absence, Dennis Gilbert is set to make his Sabres debut on the third pairing. The 28-year-old played the last two seasons with the Calgary Flames before signing a one-year deal with his hometown club on July 1.
Thompson was not on the ice on Thursday after playing just one shift against the Habs three days earlier. Luukkonen was spotted at the morning skate, taking a couple of shots before leaving. He was pulled against Montreal after allowing four goals on 18 shots.
Devon Levi is set to get the start as the Sabres look to get back in the win column against the Blues.
Sabres battling to stay relevant in Atlantic Division
Although James Reimer was claimed off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday, Levi will be between the pipes against St. Louis. If Ruff's prediction comes true, Luukkonen will be an option again on Saturday night against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Regardless of who starts the next few games, they'll look to have better fortune than UPL and Levi did on Monday. The Sabres have returned to relevancy in a tough Atlantic Division after winning six of their last 10 games, improving to 7-8-1 in the process.
It's still not great — the Sabres remain second last in the division, ahead of just the Canadiens — but it's a step in the right direction. The Atlantic is currently a logjam, with the Sabres, Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings, Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins all within three points.
It's key for the club to bank as many points as possible early in the season, as they'll all be valuable down the stretch. After Thursday night's home tilt, the Sabres will embark on a four-game road trip that begins in the City of Brotherly Love before heading through California, making stops in Los Angeles, Anaheim and San Jose.
Puck drop for Sabres and Blues on Thursday night is set for just past 7:30 p.m. ET.
