Practice Report | Skinner nears return; Levi readies for next opportunity 

Buffalo Sabres forward Jeff Skinner participated in his second practice since returning to the ice from an upper-body injury and could play Tuesday against the Anaheim Ducks, coach Don Granato announced.

Skinner has missed the last five games due to his injury but returned to his usual spot alongside Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch and appeared on the top power-play unit during Monday’s practice at LECOM Harborcenter.

“Skinner went full-go at practice and I’ll find out exactly what that means. It is definitely good,” Granato said. “He went through practice very well and would expect [a return] very, very soon, if not tomorrow.”

The 31-year-old leads the Sabres with 17 goals in 2023-24 while ranking third on the team in points with 33. He has recorded eight points (3+5) in his last five games prior to sustaining his injury.

Defenseman Erik Johnson was absent from practice due to an upper-body injury he sustained after taking a hit against Chicago on Wednesday. Johnson missed Saturday’s game versus Tampa Bay and underwent a rehab skate ahead of practice.  

Granato said Johnson is still experiencing soreness but is expected to join the team on its three-game road trip out west, barring any changes.

The Sabres kick off the road swing Tuesday against the Ducks before visiting Los Angeles on Wednesday and closing out the trip in San Jose on Saturday.

Here’s more from practice.

1. Here's how the group lined up:

Forwards

53 Jeff Skinner - 72 Tage Thompson - 89 Alex Tuch

9 Zach Benson - 37 Casey Mittelstadt - 77 JJ Peterka

12 Jordan Greenway - 24 Dylan Cozens - 22 Jack Quinn

28 Zemgus Girgensons - 19 Peyton Krebs - 21 Kyle Okposo

71 Victor Olofsson - 50 Eric Robinson

Defensemen

26 Rasmus Dahlin - 23 Mattias Samuelsson

25 Owen Power - 33 Ryan Johnson

75 Connor Clifton - 10 Henri Jokiharju/78 Jacob Bryson

Goalies

1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

27 Devon Levi

2. Goaltender Devon Levi was loaned to the Rochester Americans on Saturday as Eric Comrie was recalled to backup Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen against the Lightning on Saturday.

Levi made his first appearance at Blue Cross Arena on Saturday, stopping 14 of 17 shots in the Amerks’ 7-3 win over the Springfield Thunderbirds for his second AHL win.

Following practice, the 22-year-old shared what it was like to play in a game for the first time since Jan. 9 in the Sabres’ loss to Seattle.

“I’ll take any opportunity I get to play. So, you know, it was good,” he said. “The guys in Rochester are great. I had a great time with them. It was a great game.”

Granato said the decision to send Levi to Rochester was to give the young goaltender an opportunity to play while Luukkonen made his fifth consecutive start in Buffalo due to his recent success

“He hadn’t played in a while,” Granato said. “And to get him, obviously, to Rochester is a resource we’ve talked about. Good for him to get a game in the event he does play in one of the two back-to-back we have coming up. He’s been in the net recently, so that’s a positive.”

3. Forward Casey Mittelstadt continued his production during Buffalo’s six-game homestand, tallying six points (1+5) in those contests.

Mittelstadt leads the team with 39 points (12+27) in the campaign, including a team-best 27 assists and a plus-9 rating.

Granato talked about what has allowed Mittelstadt to take that next step this season.

“I mean, this has been a progression for him and lots of work for lots of years, really, coming to the forefront,” he said. “But you know, what underlines it other than the work is compete. He is an ultra-competitive person. And very, very driven to succeed.”