Ilya Lyubushkin will continue to rest the lower-body injury he sustained in Edmonton on October 18, coach Don Granato announced. Lyubushkin played three games after sustaining the injury but did not play in Buffalo's overtime win against Chicago on Saturday.
Lyubushkin has not been ruled out for the remainder of this week's schedule, which continues Wednesday with a home game against Pittsburgh.
"He is not happy he's not playing," Granato said. "And he has a very high pain tolerance which enabled him to play through some. But again, we want to get that down as much as we can so he can get back to full mobility, full function."
Video: PREGAME: Granato
The Sabres placed forward Riley Sheahan on waivers Sunday. Granato said the plan is to recall a defenseman in a corresponding move.
Buffalo is without three of its top-six defensemen in Lyubushkin, Mattias Samuelsson, and Henri Jokiharju. Granato expressed optimism regarding the status of Jokiharju, who has missed four games since sustaining a facial fracture in Calgary on October 20.
Granato said Jokiharju could join the team on the ice within the next seven days.
"I know every day I see him his smile's getting bigger and bigger, so he's close," Granato said.
UPDATE - (2:15 p.m.) -Sheahan cleared waivers and was assigned to Rochester. The Sabres recalled defenseman Jeremy Davies from the Amerks.
Eric Comrie was the first goaltender off the ice at the morning skate, signaling his sixth start of the season. Here's how the rest of the group lined up, with Rasmus Asplund joining a line with Peyton Krebs and Zemgus Girgensons after sitting out the last two games.
| October 31 vs. Detroit |
| --- |
| LW | C | RW |
| 53 Jeff Skinner | 72 Tage Thompson | 21 Kyle Okposo |
| 22 Jack Quinn | 37 Casey Mittelstadt | 71 Victor Olofsson |
| 77 JJ Peterka | 24 Dylan Cozens | 89 Alex Tuch |
| 19 Peyton Krebs | 28 Zemgus Girgensons | 74 Rasmus Asplund |
| LD | RD | G |
| 78 Jacob Bryson | 26 Rasmus Dahlin | 31 Eric Comrie |
| 38 Kale Clague | 25 Owen Power | 41 Craig Anderson |
| 20 Lawrence Pilut | 45 Casey Fitzgerald | |
| | | |
Jacob Bryson will play for the second straight game on the top defense pair alongside Rasmus Dahlin, the spot occupied by Samuelsson to open the season.
Shot attempts were 25-11 in favor of the Sabres when Bryson was on the ice at 5-on-5 against the Blackhawks.
"It's so easy to play with him," Bryson said of Dahlin. "He's such a confident player. And like I said, I always know if I make a mistake he's back there to cover me. So, it's a lot of fun playing with him, watching him, and, yeah, I'm excited for it."
Detroit's busy offseason included the additions of starting goaltender Ville Husso and forwards David Perron and Dominik Kubalik via free agency.
Husso has posted a .926 save percentage in five starts but will not start tonight, instead giving way to backup Alek Nedeljkovic (1-1-1 with an .890 save percentage). Kubalik leads the Red Wings with 11 points. He and Perron are tied with Dylan Larkin with a team-high four goals each.
The result has been a 4-2-2 start - tied with the Sabres at 10 points through eight games. This all could set the stage for a close game between a pair of division rivals who went to overtime in three of their four meetings last season.
"I think last year was two teams that fought hard in those games, were well prepared for each other," Granato said. "… I would expect the same today. Whether it goes to overtime or not, we'll see."
