Game Preview | 5 things to know ahead of Sabres vs. Coyotes

Alex Tuch was back on the ice with the Buffalo Sabres for their morning skate on Monday, his first session with the team since he sustained an injury against Nashville on Dec. 3.

Tuch will not play Monday night against the Arizona Coyotes, but his presence on the ice lines up a potential return when the Sabres open their upcoming road trip Wednesday in Colorado.

“We’re going to hold him out tonight,” Sabres coach Don Granato said. “It was his first skate with the team. We still need to see a little bit more progress. But I would suspect it’s sooner than later. There’s high potential for next game after he gets a couple skates.”

With Tuch still absent, the Sabres will add Brett Murray to the lineup at forward for his season debut against the Coyotes. The 6-foot-5 winger was recalled from Rochester on Monday morning while fellow forward Isak Rosen returned to the Amerks in a corresponding move.

Monday’s pregame show on MSG/MSG+ begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7. Radio coverage can be found on WGR 550.

Here are five things to know.

1. The lineup

Mattias Samuelsson left the morning skate early and is dealing with soreness that the Sabres were still evaluating as of Granato’s pregame press conference.

Devon Levi is expected to make his third consecutive start in goal. He has stopped 60 of 63 shots (a save percentage of .952) in two games since he was recalled from Rochester last Tuesday.

2. Tuch's family grows

Tuch sustained his injury while backchecking during the third period of Buffalo’s loss to Nashville last Sunday. There was one silver lining to his absence: The time away from the team was spent with his wife, Kylie, who went through 27 hours of labor and an emergency C-section to give birth to their first child, Tripp, on Saturday.

Tuch said his wife and son were both doing well.

“It ended up being weirdly good timing,” Tuch said. “It’s never a good time to get injured, but if I’m going to get injured and be able to 100-percent be there for the birth of my son, I’ll take it.”

3. Murray’s return

Murray, 25, last played an NHL game on Jan. 22, 2022. The forward has continued to develop his all-around game in the meantime, which translated to a career-best 23 goals and 49 points for Rochester last season and an appointment as one of the team’s alternate captains this season.

Granato credited Murray’s persistence as the reason for his return.

“He’s taken lots of initiative down there to make himself better,” Granato said.

4. Rosen returns to Rochester

Granato met with Rosen on Sunday to discuss a plan for how to use his experience with Buffalo to prepare for his next opportunity. The 20-year-old played in seven games with the Sabres after making his debut on Nov. 25.

“I thought he was real good,” Granto said. “He showed a sense of objective, awareness, positional awareness, some of his identity. But he needs just [to get] a little bit stronger, a little more assertive. …

“It was a good conversation. He’s an intelligent kid. And I think he’ll use this first-time experience to be able to take a step back, breathe a bit, and hone in on how he can be more impactful upon next arrival.”

Rosen ranked fifth in the AHL in points at the time of his recall.

5. Scouting the Coyotes

Arizona has lost its last two games after winning five in a row from Nov. 25 to Dec. 4. The winning streak happened to come against the five most recent franchises to win the Stanley Cup: Vegas, Tampa Bay, Colorado, St. Louis, and Washington.

The run was snapped with a 4-1 loss to Philadelphia, followed by a 5-3 loss in Boston on Saturday. The Coyotes went 0-for-8 on the power play – which still ranks seventh in the NHL – in those losses.

“A very talented team,” Granato said. “Enough skill to be opportunistic between their top guys – (Nick) Schmaltz, (Clayton) Keller – guys I know everybody’s very familiar with. [They] can make a play at any moment. They’re very dangerous hockey players.”

Schmaltz leads the team with 25 points while forward Michael Carcone – a 27-year-old with six NHL goals on his resume prior to this season – has a team-high 13 goals.

Karel Vejmelka (2-6-2, .892 save percentage) will start in goal.