With overflowing roster, Sabres’ scratches continue working behind the scenes

LOS ANGELES – File it under the “good problems to have” category, but the Buffalo Sabres almost have too many players right now.

All 27 – 15 forwards, nine defensemen and three goalies – are on the road in California, and many of them piled onto the Crypto.com Arena ice Friday for an optional practice before Saturday’s matinee (4 p.m. EDT) against the Kings.

Active rosters are limited to 23 players before the trade deadline, but after that it’s fair game under the $95.5 million salary cap. Buffalo currently rosters 26, plus defenseman Conor Timmins, who’s still on injured reserve but has been practicing for a couple weeks.

Such crowded ice is uncharted territory even for Lindy Ruff, who’s seen just about everything in 25 seasons as an NHL coach. On Monday back at LECOM Harborcenter, for example, the team spontaneously switched rinks because they’d worn out the ice so quickly.

“I don’t know if I have that mastered yet, but going to work on it,” Ruff said. “… Just trying to keep everybody involved, and that’ll be probably the biggest part of the numbers we have. The guys that haven’t played or are not in the lineup right now have been a big part of getting us to where we’ve gotten to, and I have a lot of respect for that.”

Consider forwards Josh Dunne and Tyson Kozak, who’ve played impactful two-way hockey whenever they’ve slotted into the fourth line. Or defenseman Michael Kesselring, whose game was progressing nicely after earlier injuries; now, he’s eagerly awaiting to get back in the lineup. Or veteran trade pickups Tanner Pearson and Luke Schenn, who’ve played one and two games, respectively, since the deadline.

Timmins has missed 36 games since breaking his leg in December. When healthy, he was a stalwart on the league’s best penalty kill, and he averaged more than two shot blocks per game at all strengths. He’s just about ready to re-enter the lineup – or be available to, at least.

With 13 games still remaining until the playoffs, those six could all get some chances down the stretch. In the meantime, it’s a collective effort to keep them game ready.

“We keep really close tabs on their practice numbers and how much extra to get them and how much work they’ve got to do in the gym,” Ruff explained. “Guys that don’t play are doing a lot of extra work. Guys that don’t play a lot in the game, they have to do extra work after games to catch up to the guys that did play.

“I’ve got to give our strength staff a great big thank you, because they’ve kept their hands on all these guys, game in and game out and practice.”

Hired last summer, director of performance Brian Galivan and head strength and conditioning coach Jake Nitsche arrived with a clear goal: make the weight room an engaging place, not a dreaded one. That’s especially important with healthy scratches who, of course, would prefer to be playing games.

“That’s almost the harder part: keeping it engaging, keeping it fun, making it less of a chore for the group of players that are in that situation,” Nitsche said.

“They’re doing workouts with us to make sure we’re maintaining strength, tissue tolerance, speed, power. Train all those qualities like maybe we don’t have time to train when they’re actually playing. And get some development work to help them add some tools to their belt, so they can get in the lineup as well.”

The Sabres are unlikely to force any lineup changes right now, as they’ve gone 11-1-0 since the Olympic break and have seen their other trade additions settle into their roles – Sam Carrick at fourth-line center, Logan Stanley on the third defense pair with Zach Metsa. That said, on and off the ice, playing time will always be up for grabs.

“If you’re ready to play, you get yourself in the lineup,” Ruff said. “A little bit of a competition on who’s in, now, and if you’re playing well, you’re gonna stay in. The lineup for the next day is still about just winning a hockey game, one game at a time here.”