Samuelsson, Power stepped up in Dahlin's absence vs. Bruins

Mattias Samuelsson and the rest of the Sabres defense corps knew they needed to step up in the absence of teammate Rasmus Dahlin, who missed Thursday’s game against the Boston Bruins with a lower-body injury.

Dahlin has averaged over 25 minutes of ice time per game and has logged heavy minutes on the Sabres’ top power-play unit. The group collectively came together to make up for loss, led by Samuelsson and Owen Power.

Power skated a season-high 28:27, tallying five shots and two blocked shots while Samuelsson skated 25:57 with a team-high nine blocked shots and five hits. Samuelsson’s performance earned himself player of the game honors as captain Kyle Okposo handed him the sword following the 3-1 victory in Boston.

“I thought I played pretty well, battled and, yeah, I guess to get that recognition from the boys in the room feels pretty good,” Samuelsson said.

Samuelsson thought he played an assertive and aggressive game that allowed him to take away time and space from the Bruins. He felt confident and comfortable after not feeling his best a few times this season.

He emphasized how having a player like Power by his side made it easy for him to succeed.

“He’s obviously a really special player,” Samuelsson said about Power. “I think it was easy for me. We just work well together. I think we kind of think the game a little similar. So, yeah, just be on the same page, just try and help each other out as best as we can.

“For me I actually like playing with another lefty so then you can kind of switch sides. You don’t have to worry about what side you’re on, if you’re lined up on the left side and halfway through the shift you end up on the right side, just stay there and you’ll switch with your partner. So, me and OP did that.”

Samuelsson’s final shift of Thursday’s game lasted three minutes as Boston made one final push to attempt a comeback. The defenseman kept the Bruins at bay alongside Power, Tage Thompson, Dylan Cozens, and Casey Mittelstadt to send the Sabres home with a statement win.

“I think Sammy had nine blocks. ... You don’t do that selfishly, stand in front of a slap shot,” Thompson said. “That’s not for your personal gain, that’s for the team.”

Here’s more from Friday’s practice at KeyBank Center.

1. Dahlin (lower body) and goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (illness) were absent from practice and remain day to day, Granato announced.

Granato shared Dahlin is feeling better and is a possibility for Saturday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens.

“The other night he played through soreness, and we’re trying to manage it that way until it resolves to the point he’s not playing with that,” Granato said. “So, that day to day is we’ll see where he is tomorrow. He’s a possibility for tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, Luukkonen skated on his own Friday but is still recovering from his illness.

“It’s a day to day now and he will not be back tomorrow in any capacity—for backup or starting,” Granato said about Luukkonen’ availability for Saturday.

2. Forward Jack Quinn practiced with the team and was out of his non-contact jersey, appearing in his regular black and red gear with the rest of the group.

While there is no set timeline for his return, Granato explained how important each day will be moving forward for Quinn, who keeps making steps in his ongoing recovery from offseason surgery to repair an injured Achilles.

“Each day now is big for Quinn because he’s moving from recovering from an injury to preparing to play,” Granato said. “And while there’s a long way to go physically for him, there’s a long way to go psychologically when you have an injury that’s the duration of his as far as recovery.”

3. Eric Robinson made his Sabres debut Thursday, skating 13:33 and appearing on Buffalo’s top penalty-kill unit.

The forward, who the Sabres acquired in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday, recorded a plus-1 rating and two blocked shots after having a goal overturned in the first period against the Bruins.

Following practice, Granato explained what bringing in a player like Robinson can add to each game.

“What we need is hungry, competitive, appetite. Hungry, competitive guys," Granato said. "He’s got enough experience. He’s got size. He plays a direct game. His attributes fit exactly what we need to add. I don’t want to say add from the outside—we need to add more of that to our game."

4.Tage Thompson has tallied a goal and an assist in two games since returning from an upper-body injury.

He emphasized the importance of taking things one shift at a time, which will lead to the offensive success the team had last season, when the Sabres ranked third in the league with 3.57 goals per game.

“Every time someone stepped over the boards, it was, ‘I’m going to win this battle. I’m going to finish a hit. I’m going to get the puck in, I’m going to get the puck out,’" Thompson said. “And then from there, the offense comes, and you get time and space, and that’s where the creativity and the plays happen.”

5. Devon Levi posted a 31-save performance against the Bruins in his first start since being recalled from the Rochester Americans on Tuesday.

Granato talked about Levi’s transition to the professional level and his confidence in the young goaltender.

“… Part of getting to your greatness for all players is going through massive ups and downs, and challenges and struggles. And then learning to rebound and elevate to the next one,” Granato said. “And Devon’s already gone through that at the start of this year. But he’s responded very well, which is a real positive. So, Devon’s going in the right direction. And we have confidence because of the foundation elements—his commitment to it, commitment to work through adversity, through challenge and fight.”