Kulikov has played three games since returning from a 12-game absence caused by an injury to his lower back. He sustained the injury when he crashed into a bench door during a preseason game in October, cutting his preseason short and forcing him to miss the season opener. The same injury also forced him to miss a 13-game stretch beginning in mid-November.
When he returned this time, he said it was the best he's felt all season. He's made the decision along with the team not to participate in most morning skates from here on out - instead, he'll use the mornings to take care of his body - but three games later, he smiled when asked if he was still feeling well.
"It's been pretty good," he said. "I'm not going to lie, it's been holding up and feeling good."
Kulikov's played big minutes since returning; the 22:47 he skated in Montreal on Tuesday was the lowest of the three games he's played. In fact, in 23 total games this season, his average ice time of 22:34 is a career high.
"He's dealt with a tough injury … He wasn't feeling 100 percent," Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said. "That's something he's dealing with going forward, probably with every game that he plays. He's getting his feet back underneath him, getting his timing, getting his defensive play back underneath him the last three games and we need him to be at his best."
Kulikov pointed to the nature of his goal on Tuesday - a shot on net that simply found its way in from the blue line - as an example of why he feels he, and Buffalo's defensive unit as a whole, needs to shoot the puck more. Doing so, he said, will create more chances for bounces to go in Buffalo's favor.
If shooting more does become an outcome of scoring on Tuesday, his goal might end up being more impactful than it seemed.
"I don't know," Kulikov said. "They say when they come, they come in bunches so hopefully it'll give me some confidence."
