Bowen Byram spent Sunday morning in the shooting booth while the Buffalo Sabres took the ice for practice at KeyBank Center.
Byram and his defense partner, Rasmus Dahlin, were kept off the ice for rest purposes after both players skated season-high ice times in the team’s shootout win over Calgary on Saturday.
The 32:34 that Byram skated was not only a career high, but the most minutes logged by any NHL player in a single game this season. It was the ninth-highest ice time by a Sabres player since the league began tracking the statistic in 1997-98.
“He’s got a good engine,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “He can play a lot of minutes. He’s a great skater. He recovers fast. That’s the only way a guy can play that amount of minutes.”
It was the continuation of what’s been a strong run for Byram in four games since being paired with Dahlin against Detroit on Nov. 2. Byram scored a pair of goals in the following game against Ottawa, then had an assist and a plus-four rating in the next win over the Rangers.
With Byram and Dahlin sharing the ice at 5-on-5 – typically against top players on the opposing team – the Sabres have outscored opponents 5-3 and earned a 54.86 percent share of shot attempts.
“Ras is easy to play with,” Byram said. “He’s a smart player and makes the game pretty easy on me, so it’s enjoyable.”
The two defensemen also share a capacity to perform at a high level while logging heavy minutes. During his rookie season with Colorado, Byram twice crossed the 25-minute mark in the Stanley Cup Final against Tampa Bay. Both games were Avalanche wins.
Byram’s 32nd minute on Saturday came in a crucial situation, with the Sabres killing a 4-on-3 penalty in the final seconds of overtime. Byram pounced on a rebound in front of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and got the clear that sent the game to the shootout.
On Sunday, he was back at the rink – off the ice, but still putting the work in to get ready for another game.
“Just my normal routine that I go through pretty much every day or after every game,” he said. “Nothing too crazy or rigorous, just try to take care of myself.”
Here’s more from Sunday’s practice.
