Pilut continuing to push for roster spot as regular season nears

Before the Sabres took the ice for practice on Thursday, they whittled their training camp roster down to 32 players. Rasmus Asplund, Victor Olofsson, Will Borgen, Taylor Fedun and Scott Wedgewood were sent to Rochester ahead of the Amerks' game at Harborcenter on Thursday night.
One name that wasn't on that list: Lawrence Pilut. The rookie defenseman has managed to stick around with one preseason game remaining, against the New York Islanders in Oshawa, Ont. on Friday.
"I'm just trying to play my game," he said. "Being the defenseman that I am, the two-way guy with … offensive qualities, I feel like I'm trying to develop my game every day and I feel like that's going good so far."

Pilut is in the process of adjusting to the North American ice surface, which is smaller than the European ice he played on growing up in Sweden. He's looked anything but hesitant thus far, regularly joining the rush and making plays in the offensive zone.
Those are the qualities that earned Pilut Defenseman of the Year honors as a 22-year-old in the Swedish Hockey League last season, when he scored 38 points (8+30) in 52 games. They've also been enough to impress Sabres coach Phil Housley through three preseason appearances.
"I think it's just his calmness and poise with the puck," Housley said. "He attacks the game the right way. He gets into the play, he'll make those moves on the blue line. It shows the confidence he has in his abilities."

Pilut was rewarded for his confidence against Toronto last Friday, when he skated a team-high 25:31 and tallied four shots and seven shot attempts against a Maple Leafs lineup that included the likes of John Tavares and Morgan Rielly.
He faced his greatest challenge on Wednesday, facing the Pittsburgh Penguins' regular-season lineup on the road. While he admitted to taking a step backward performance-wise - he tallied four shot attempts and two blocked shots in 21:26 but was on the ice for two goals against - he also embraced the challenge of facing the two-time Stanley Cup champions.
"It was a good pace out there and it was good compete all over the ice," he said. "I like to play those kinds of games. I feel like that's the best game you can play."
Making it this far doesn't guarantee Pilut a roster spot. There are still 12 defensemen listed on the training camp roster, and Housley said spots are up still up for grabs entering the preseason finale on Friday.
"Of course, there's a little nervousness there but I'm just trying to live in the moment, trying to do my best out there," Pilut said. "We'll see what happens."

Medical report

The Sabres had seven players missing from practice on Thursday, a group that included forwards Jack Eichel, Johan Larsson and Connor Sheary and defensemen Zach Bogosian, Brandon Hickey, Rasmus Ristolainen and Marco Scandella.
Housley said those players will not make the trip to Oshawa for precautionary reasons.
"They've got some minor ailments," Housley said. "They're all day-to-day."
Defenseman Matt Hunwick also remained absent, but Housley said he's progressed in his recover from a neck injury. Hunwick has missed the entirety of camp thus far and is currently ruled out indefinitely.
"He's making strides, making improvements," Housley said. "He's still in the same situation he was before but certainly he's come along."

Lines at practice

53 Jeff Skinner - 17 Vladimir Sobotka - 23 Sam Reinhart
92 Alex Nylander - 10 Patrik Berglund - 72 Tage Thompson
20 Scott Wilson - 37 Casey Mittelstadt - 21 Kyle Okposo
28 Zemgus Girgensons - 71 Evan Rodrigues - 29 Jason Pominville / 13 Nick Baptiste
26 Rasmus Dahlin - 19 Jake McCabe
82 Nathan Beaulieu - 8 Casey Nelson
45 Brendan Guhle - 5 Matt Tennyson
24 Lawrence Pilut - 95 Justin Bailey (F)
40 Carter Hutton
35 Linus Ullmark