Miller was one of eight defensemen on the ice for practice. Will Butcher is also working back from an upper-body injury that has kept him sidelined since Jan. 29.
Casey Fitzgerald - like Miller, a right shot - sustained an upper-body injury during his fight with Vegas Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar last Thursday and will not make the trip to Western Canada.
Miller, in the final year of his contract, has 12 points (2+10) in 32 games this season.
The Sabres assigned Mark Jankowski to Rochester after the forward cleared waivers on Wednesday. The roster move creates room for Zemgus Girgensons' anticipated return to the lineup in Edmonton.
Jankowski has 12 points (5+7) in 13 games with Rochester this season. He tallied five points (2+3) in 19 games with the Sabres.
Video: Wednesday's Practice Report: One Year Under Granato
Thursday marks the one-year anniversary of Granato taking over as interim head coach. The Sabres were mired in what would become an 18-game winless streak then, with a veteran-laden roster that still featured Sam Reinhart, Eric Staal, Taylor Hall, Brandon Montour, and Rasmus Ristolainen, among others.
Granato made the decision to lean heavily on the team's young talent during the final month of the season, a choice that paved the way for players like Tage Thompson, Casey Mittelstadt, and Rasmus Dahlin to string together productive stretches that created momentum into the summer.
"When I stop to answer a question like this and you look back, it seems like a long, long time ago, probably because looking ahead is so exciting," Granato said when asked to reflect on the anniversary. "And the excitement ahead is how much better these guys can still get."
Thompson was not a lineup regular at the time Granato took over. Dahlin had never handled top-pair minutes. Their evolutions into becoming the Sabres' current top centerman and defenseman, respectively, began upon Granato's appointment as coach.
This season, the Sabres have developed a new culture while deploying a lineup that has included 19 different players age 25 or under.
"There's a lot going on, a lot evolving really fast around here although it sometimes it doesn't feel fast," Granato said. "But when you reflect on where we were one year ago and we look at all that personnel that's gone, it did happen pretty fast.
"We can continue that acceleration, that speed and progress, I believe, because of the age of our guys."
The Sabres released a video Tuesday announcing that Jeff Skinner will join broadcasters Dan Dunleavy and Martin Biron in going "Bald for Bucks" to raise money for Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Find more information on the initiative here.
Video: Jeff Skinner is going Bald For Bucks this year
"It's something I've seen sort of from the outside the last couple of years and it obviously goes to a great cause," Skinner said. "Not sure how it'll turn out but I'm happy to be a part of it and sort of see how it goes. I'm excited to help out there."
Kyle Okposo took a maintenance day but will be ready to play against the Oilers, Granato said.
Here's how the Sabres lined up in his absence:
| March 16 |
| --- |
| LW | C | RW |
| 53 Jeff Skinner | 72 Tage Thompson | 89 Alex Tuch |
| 74 Rasmus Asplund | 37 Casey Mittelstadt | 71 Victor Olofsson |
| 19 Peyton Krebs | 24 Dylan Cozens | 29 Vinnie Hinostroza |
| 28 Zemgus Girgensons | 20 Cody Eakin | 15 John Hayden |
| 96 Anders Bjork | | |
| LD | RD | G |
| 26 Rasmus Dahlin | 10 Henri Jokiharju | 41 Craig Anderson |
| 8 Robert Hagg | 13 Mark Pysyk | 31 Dustin Tokarski |
| 23 Mattias Samuelsson | 78 Jacob Bryson | |
| 4 Will Butcher | 33 Colin Miller | |
