Practice Report | Johnson readies for return to Colorado against former team 

Erik Johnson will make his return to Colorado on Wednesday as the Buffalo Sabres take on the Avalanche at Ball Arena to open a three-game road trip.

Johnson, who spent 13 seasons with the Avalanche before signing a one-year deal with the Sabres on July 1, is looking forward to connecting with his old teammates and spending time at his home in Colorado.

The veteran defenseman reminisced on his time with the Avs following the Sabres’ practice at KeyBank Center on Tuesday, reflecting on how he helped his former team go from a last-place finish in 2016-2017 to a Stanley Cup in 2022.   

“I’m really looking forward to it. A lot of great memories, great friends, awesome fan base, and a great city that's now home for me when I'm done playing,” Johnson said.

“We built that thing from the bottom all the way to the top, so it'll be extra special to be there with all my old teammates and the fans and as much as it'll be kind of my return, it's also me wanting to give thanks to that fan base and that organization for all they did for me over the past almost 15 years.”

Since arriving in Buffalo during free agency, Johnson has solidified himself as a leader in Buffalo’s locker room, sharing his knowledge and experiences in the league with the Sabres’ young roster.

He has also played a significant role on the team’s top penalty-kill unit, logging over 95 minutes of penalty kill time, which ranks fifth in the NHL.

Sabres coach Don Granato shared what Johnson means to the Sabres’ organization and is looking forward to seeing how Colorado honors him on Wednesday.

“Erik is an enormous addition for us in so many ways,” Granato said. “But the biggest is the love for him his teammates have. He’s a guy that—he’s got an entourage for very good reason. He’s a wealth of experience and a good guy to be around.

“So, I know the team will be happy to see whatever they put up, and I would imagine they’ll put something up pretty nice based on how he is and how long he was there, the person he is.”

The Avalanche sit atop the Central Division standings with 36 points and a 17-9-2 record while the Sabres sit at 12-14-3 on the season and just four points out of a wild card spot. Buffalo defeated Colorado 4-0 inside KeyBank Center on Oct. 29 when Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 23 saves en route to his first NHL shutout.  

The Sabres will look to continue their success against the Avs, entering the road trip with points in three straight games and a 2-0-1 record.

“We're playing well right now and going into a real tough building with a great fan base and a great team. So, it's a good challenge for us and a good marker to see where we're at,” Johnson said.

Here’s more from Tuesday’s practice.

1. The Sabres did not run line rushes as forwards Tage Thompson and Kyle Okposo took maintenance days.

Alex Tuch was on the ice for practice and is expected to be ready to go for the road trip, Granato announced. Tuch missed the last four games after exiting the game against the Nashville Predators on Dec. 3 with an injury.

Defenseman Mattias Samuelsson, who left Monday’s morning skate with soreness and was held out of the game against Arizona, did not practice and remains day to day.

2. Luukkonen has recovered from his illness and is expected to play on the road this week.  

The 24-year-old had recorded a .907 save percentage and 2.81 goals-against average in 11 starts prior to his illness, which kept him out of the lineup for the last four games.

Granato expressed his excitement to see Luukkonen back to full health and ready to go.

“He has played very well progressively through the year—early season I should say—and it’ll be nice to have him back now that he’s got his energy level back up after what was depleting him,” Granato said.

Luukkonen is looking forward to getting back into game action and is confident that he is ready to play.

“It was unfortunate. It was not fun to be sick for a little bit like that and coming back from it, you lose a little energy, a little weight,” he said. “But in the end, I'm 100-percent now and just excited to play again.”

3. Eric Robinson recorded a three-point night Monday against the Coyotes, including his first goal with the Sabres since being acquired in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets last Wednesday.

Robinson has skated alongside Peyton Krebs and Kyle Okposo and the trio was rewarded for their physical and direct game Monday, combining for seven points in Buffalo’s 5-2 win.

Following practice, Johnson shared how Robinson’s presence on the ice has positively impacted the team.

“He's added a little bit more edge to our game,” Johnson said. “You just see it. It’s not real pretty but it's effective and they’re going to the net and they're getting opportunities. …We’re simplifying our game right now which is translated into more scoring chances and we're spending less time defending which let's face it, everyone wants to play offense and when you defend hard, you'll spend less time in your own zone.”

4. Defenseman Connor Clifton enters the road trip riding a three-game point streak, tallying four assists in that span.

Clifton recorded the secondary assist on each of the Sabres’ first two goals against Arizona and has a plus-4 rating in his last three games. He said he is feeling more comfortable after switching from the left to the right side next to Johnson.

Johnson said the switch has allowed Clifton to elevate his game and has resulted in the two playing better as a pair.

“I just think it helped elevate his game, and I wanted to see that. I think it's happened the last handful of games for us,” Johnson said.

“I'll do whatever for the good of the team and while I played the right the most of my career, I have played some of the left. … So, I'm good with it and Connor has been playing well on the right, so I'm happy for him and we'll keep it going.”