Cozens misses practice with upper-body injury

Dylan Cozens did not practice with the Buffalo Sabres on Friday and is currently considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury, coach Ralph Krueger announced.
Krueger added that assessments are ongoing concerning the rookie forward, who left during the third period of Buffalo's game against Pittsburgh on Thursday following a hit into the boards from forward Zach Aston-Reese.
"There are tests and evaluations going on today and we'll keep you posted," Krueger said.

Riley Sheahan replaced Cozens at the center position on a line with Taylor Hall and Sam Reinhart during practice. Sheahan previously moved to the top of the lineup in place of Jack Eichel against New Jersey on Feb. 25, when he skated a season-high 16:12 and scored a goal.
Sheahan has five points (3+2) in 24 games this season, including the primary assist on Victor Olofsson's goal Thursday.
"It's one of the beauties of Riley Sheahan," Krueger said. "He's just such a good team player. Solid, strong skater with a good vision of the game and he definitely helps solidify the defensive side of any line he plays with but he can add to the offense.
"He's been a real pleasant surprise and a utility kind of forward that every team needs a few of. So, Riley has been a bright spot in the season, a surprise."
Here's how the Sabres lined up at practice, with defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen also absent:
Forwards:
13 Tobias Rieder - 12 Eric Staal - 68 Victor Olofsson
4 Taylor Hall - 15 Riley Sheahan - 23 Sam Reinhart
53 Jeff Skinner - 27 Curtis Lazar - 37 Casey Mittelstadt
72 Tage Thompson - 20 Cody Eakin - 21 Kyle Okposo
Rotating in: 49 C.J. Smith, 74 Rasmus Asplund
Defensemen (rotating pairs): 10 Henri Jokiharju, 26 Rasmus Dahlin, 33 Colin Miller, 62 Brandon Montour, 78 Jacob Bryson, 88 Brandon Davidson
Goalies:
31 Dustin Tokarski
34 Jonas Johansson
40 Carter Hutton

Amerks unavailable due to COVID-19 protocols

Krueger confirmed that players on the Rochester Americans are temporarily unavailable for recall as the AHL club navigates COVID-19 protocols. Rochester's game against Cleveland on Friday was postponed "out of an abundance of caution in regard to league COVID-19 protocols," the team announced.
"They're going through the same protocol that we did here just, you know, we hope it doesn't affect the whole team," Krueger said.

Up next

The Sabres conclude their two-game set with the Penguins at KeyBank Center on Saturday night. Krueger announced that Carter Hutton will get the nod in net.
Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. The puck drops at 7.