Practice Report | Okposo returns to practice ahead of 6-game homestand 

Buffalo Sabres captain Kyle Okposo returned to practice at KeyBank Center on Monday after missing the last two games with a lower-body injury.

Okposo sustained the injury during the team’s game in Ottawa on Dec. 31 and was able to finish the game before experiencing soreness the next day.

The forward is not expected to be in the lineup Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken but is getting closer to his return, Sabres coach Don Granato announced.

“Still some soreness but good to see him out there and skating and we’ll – today was the first practice back for him, so we’ll see where he’s at day by day,” Granato said. “But he’s close. Not tomorrow.”

Okposo said he felt good and will see how the injury responds after pushing himself through a tough practice with the team.

“I felt pretty good,” he said. “I’ll see how it responds tonight and tomorrow and kind of go from there. So, just trying to get back into it and have no hesitation out there.”

Prior to his injury, Okposo recorded 11 points (8+3) in his last 20 games. He’s looking forward to re-entering the lineup at some point during Buffalo’s six-game homestand.

The Sabres are 2-0 to open the new year after a 6-1 win over Montreal on Thursday and 3-1 victory in Pittsburgh on Saturday to close out their road trip.

The group will kick off its homestand against the Kraken, who are on a six-game win streak and have recorded at least a point in 10 consecutive contests.

“They’re playing well. They’re playing like a really good hockey team,” Okposo said.

“They had their struggles to start but they really turned it on as of late and the strength of their team is that they play an extremely effective team game. They play kind of the same way each line and it’s going to be a great test for us right away here to kick off this homestand. So, I’m really excited to see how we come out."

Granato said the Sabres will continue taking things a game at a time to not get ahead of themselves and that right now the focus is solely on Seattle.

"... It’s the next game and we know it’s a very, very good hockey team, a stingy hockey team and a good hockey team," he said. "We look past that, we’re in trouble. It’ll be nice to not travel. That’s a nice component, and not have that element, but it’s still the next game is everything.”

Here’s more from Monday’s practice.

1. Forwards Jordan Greenway and Victor Olofsson were absent from practice due to illness and remain day to day.

Here’s how the group lined up, with Okposo stepping into Greenway’s spot alongside Casey Mittelstadt and Zach Benson.

Forwards

53 Jeff Skinner – 72 Tage Thompson – 89 Alex Tuch

77 JJ Peterka – 24 Dylan Cozens – 22 Jack Quinn

21 Kyle Okposo – 37 Casey Mittelstadt – 9 Zach Benson

50 Eric Robinson – 19 Peyton Krebs – 28 Zemgus Girgensons

Defensemen

26 Rasmus Dahlin – 10 Henri Jokiharju

25 Owen Power – 6 Erik Johnson

23 Mattias Samuelsson – 75 Connor Clifton

33 Ryan Johnson

Goalies

1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

27 Devon Levi

2. Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 40 of 41 shots against Pittsburgh, including three breakaway attempts to lead the Sabres to victory. Following practice, Granato praised Luukkonen for his performance.  

“Well, he certainly looks sharp and confident and comfortable,” Granato said. “I think for goalies, you know, when you’re feeling it, you make those things look simple and easy and he did the other night.

“So, I think it’s more of a rhythm thing than anything else, and Upie obviously is feeling very – he did the other night, he was feeling very good about his game. You can see that he was very comfortable in all those situations.”

3. The Sabres currently sit six points out of a Wild Card spot, but Granato said the team is going to worry less about the standings and focus its time on the things it can control like how the group performs in each game.

“Real simple, we’re in the moment more. That’s where we need to be,” he said. “It’s not for us to be forecasting or projecting or whatever. It’s for us to be performing. And sometimes your attention is diverted to that end. We’ve had a better focus now.

“What’s relevant is your next game because that’s the only thing you have control over, and there’s thousands of cliches that could describe that. But get in the moment, and the moment’s tomorrow’s game. I think our guys have done a better job of that.”