Okposo returns to practice with Sabres

Kyle Okposo feared the worst, just like the rest of us.
When Okposo stayed down on the ice following a collision with Ottawa Senators forward Bobby Ryan on March 8, it was hard not to think back to a year ago, when a concussion cost the forward the final six games of his season and eventually landed him in the Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit at Buffalo General.
Okposo, too, thought back to last season. But while he was diagnosed with a concussion following the collision with Ryan, he quickly noticed that his symptoms weren't as severe. Reports from Phil Housley were positive, and on Friday Okposo was back on the ice with the Buffalo Sabres as a full participant at practice.

"Yeah, that kind of runs through your mind, 'Oh no, I hope it doesn't happen again,' and, 'Here we go,'" Okposo said. "But it wasn't really like that. I didn't have many symptoms. Mood wasn't affected, sleep wasn't affected, so I saw the people that I needed to and feeling good and ready to get back at it."

Okposo left the door open for a potential return to the lineup against Chicago on Saturday, but Housley said he remains in concussion protocol and still must be cleared.
"This was a first really good step today in practice to see where he's at," Housley said. "I really like what he brought today, sharp and clean."
Okposo ranks fourth on the Sabres with 38 points (11+27) in 65 games and has been critical of his own game at times this season. He said the silver lining of his week-long absence has been the opportunity to reassess his game.
"Being out a week, I've been able to reassess the year and where I'm at and where my game's been at this year," Okposo said. "It was a really good time to just reflect and kind of take some realizations in on what I need to do to get back to where I need to on a more consistent basis."

With 12 games remaining, the Sabres may also have their leading scorer back in the lineup before long. Jack Eichel skated with the team for the fourth day in a row and has not been ruled out for Saturday's game against the Blackhawks.
"We'll reevaluate that tomorrow, we'll see what the day brings," Housley said. "It was another good practice, a lot of bumping and grinding. We'll see how his ankle responds to that."

Ullmark returns to the ice

Linus Ullmark is expected to receive some time in net for the Sabres before the end of this season. If does, it will only be the second-best thing to happen to the goaltender in the month of March.
Ullmark was back on the ice with the Sabres on Friday after his wife, Moa, gave birth to their first-born son on Thursday morning. The always-cheery goaltender was even happier than usual when describing the experience to reporters.
"What can I say? I'm speechless," Ullmark said. "You're standing there, you can't do anything other than] giving your wife your support and even that isn't enough sometimes through all the pain and suffering. But it was worth it in the end. I talked to her a lot afterwards and like I said, we're on cloud nine."
[Instagram from @lullmark: My son, you are going to achieve great things in your life. You will make life-long friends, meeting the love of your life, creating your own family and spending your life with the people you love.And we will always be there for you, every second along the way. Through hardships and challenges, through pain and suffering, through happiness and joy. And hopefully for the most part of your life, through love.We will always be there for you, every second along the way.Harry Sven Ullmark, Mama loves you, Dada loves you. You will always be safe and you will always be strong. Because we are going to be with you. Always... and forever.❤️��
Ullmark was recalled from Rochester on Tuesday, and - while it will be Chad Johnson in net for Buffalo on Saturday - Housley has said that the plan is to get him some games down the line. Even one start will be more than he expected.
Ullmark felt he had been playing well in Rochester and, with the Calder Cup playoffs quickly approaching, expected to be with the Amerks for the remainder of the season.
"We were playing pretty solid in Rochester too, we didn't really have the success that we were having in the beginning of the season but I felt that we were doing the right things and I felt like I was getting my flow back," he said. "So, I thought I was going to be there for the rest of the season.
"Luckily for me, I got the opportunity to come back up here, have good practices and I'm looking forward if I ever get to start a game."

Friday's practice

Jacob Josefson, Casey Nelson and Rasmus Ristolainen stayed off the ice for maintenance days. Robin Lehner left the ice shortly into practice, which Housley said was also for a maintenance issue. All are expected to be ready come Saturday.
Here's how the lineup looked at practice:
20 Scott Wilson - 90 Ryan O'Reilly - 23 Sam Reinhart
28 Zemgus Girgensons - 15 Jack Eichel - 29 Jason Pominville
67 Benoit Pouliot - 71 Evan Rodrigues - 13 Nicholas Baptiste / 25 Seth Griffith
17 Jordan Nolan - 22 Johan Larsson - 95 Justin Bailey
21 Kyle Okposo
Defense: 4 Josh Gorges, 6 Marco Scandella, 41 Justin Falk, 45 Brendan Guhle, 82 Nathan Beaulieu, 93 Victor Antipin
40 Robin Lehner
31 Chad Johnson
35 Linus Ullmark