Morning Skate | Thompson, Rieder to return against Flyers

Tage Thompson and Tobias Rieder will return to the lineup when the Buffalo Sabres host the Philadelphia Flyers at KeyBank Center on Monday.
Thompson has missed the past three games due to an illness. Rieder has missed four games with an upper-body injury. They are expected to replace Steven Fogarty and Jean Sebastien-Dea at forward, based on the lines at the team's morning skate.
Thompson fell ill prior to the team's game in Pittsburgh last Wednesday. Interim coach Don Granato had said that morning that he hoped for the 23-year-old winger to benefit from more consistent playing time down the stretch after an up-and-down start to the season.

In six games prior to his illness, Thompson accounted for 11 shots and scored his first goal of the season. He placed a focus on keeping his feet moving and creating offense around the net.
"I think when I'm moving my feet, I'm effective and when I'm in on the forecheck, physical, getting pucks back," Thompson said. "Then once I have the puck down [low], protecting it down low behind the net and taking pucks to the net and getting to the net for rebounds and tips and stuff like that. And I think when I do that, it gets me into the game, and then from there I start feeling it and plays start opening up."
Granato pointed to Thompson's blend of size and skill as a natural conduit to what the Sabres need to do more of as a team: hang onto pucks in the offensive zone and cut down on turnovers as a result.
"He has an individual talent as a player that can naturally … [allow him to] hang on to the puck longer and maybe [find] a second or third option," Granato said. "And we have to get there collectively as a team. And that's something we're pushing forward to, and hope we progress as a group in that regard."

The lineup

Here's how the Sabres lined up at their morning skate:
68 Victor Olofsson - 24 Dylan Cozens - 23 Sam Reinhart
4 Taylor Hall - 37 Casey Mittelstadt - 72 Tage Thompson
53 Jeff Skinner - 27 Curtis Lazar - 21 Kyle Okposo
13 Tobias Rieder - 20 Cody Eakin - 15 Riley Sheahan
44 Matt Irwin - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen
26 Rasmus Dahlin - 10 Henri Jokiharju
62 Brandon Montour - 33 Colin Miller
Matt Irwin is expected to step in for Jacob Bryson, who is day-to-day after a collision with Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak forced him to leave Saturday's game early.
Casey Mittelstadt will center Thompson and Taylor Hall after sliding to the middle during the game against the Bruins.
"The two real good components there are he's competing very hard and he's adjusting," Granato said of Mittelstadt. "He's acclimating. He's acclimating fast. So, I've been happy with that. I think he's been confident in that position."
Linus Ullmark is expected to start in goal.

Scouting the Flyers

Philadelphia is coming off a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers that stopped the bleeding in what has been a 5-9-1 stretch since the beginning of March. The Flyers have allowed a league-high 4.40 goals per game during that span, including five outings with five or more goals against.
The Sabres were able to take advantage of the Flyers' defensive woes the last time these teams played, a 5-4 shootout loss in Philadelphia on March 9. That game was preceded, however, by shutout wins for the Flyers in three prior head-to-head meetings.
Brian Elliott, who will get the start in net Monday, accounted for two of those shutouts. He is 16-2-2 with a 1.67 goals-against average and four shutouts in 21 career games against the Sabres.
"You go to the net harder, fight harder," Granato said. "We did speak on some offensive stuff that we can simplify and play more direct."

Tune in

Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. Puck drop is scheduled for 7.