BUFFALO -- Mattias Samuelsson is out for the rest of the season for the Buffalo Sabres because of an upper-body injury, and Jack Quinn is expected to be out 6-8 weeks after he had surgery for a lower-body injury.
“Those are key guys and very talented guys,” Sabres coach Don Granato said. “I feel the other guys that are going to have to step up, that you're going to call on and are going to fill more minutes, are in a way better mind frame than they were. Their psyche is way better than it was a month ago. So, we lose these guys, but I still feel very confident in the group that's going to have to pick up the slack for missing these guys.”
Samuelsson will have surgery for his injury, which he sustained in a 4-2 loss at the Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 23. The 23-year-old defenseman had seven points (one goal, six assists) in 41 games this season, missing eight games because of various injuries.
In his absence, the Sabres have gone 7-0-1 compared to 9-15-3 without Samuelsson in the lineup last season.
“They're different this year. They've grown, our young defensemen," Granato said. "Ryan Johnson has come in and done a really nice job, [Connor] Clifton and Erik Johnson have done a nice job. So, when Mattias has been out, we've kind of been able to shore that area up. The biggest challenge for us this year is we've had more injuries up front, and that's where our challenge has been.”
One of those injuries has been to Quinn, who sustained his latest setback in the third period of a 5-2 win against the San Jose Sharks on Jan. 27, when his leg bent awkwardly into the boards on a hit from Tomas Hertl. The 22-year-old forward has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 17 games this season, missing the first 32 while recovering from offseason surgery on his Achilles tendon.
The Sabres said this lower-body injury is not related to his Achilles.
“He worked so hard and spent so much time doing rehab,” center Dylan Cozens said. “He was playing so great. To see him go down again, everyone just feels really bad for him. It’s awful.”
The Sabres return from the All-Star break against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; BSSWX, MSG-B).
“It [stinks] to be honest,” defenseman Rasmus Dahlin said. “But it’s a part of it. I’m sure they think it [stinks] more than we do, so we’ve got to think about them, too. But, yeah, a very hot forward and a really, really good [defenseman]. We are going to miss them, but we’ve just got to look forward and make the best of it.”
