Larsson returns to practice with Sabres

Johan Larsson came into training camp prepared to fight for his spot in the lineup. The Sabres had made it a point to increase internal competition during the offseason, and Larsson returned - in his coach's words - in the best shape he's been in.
It showed on the ice. Larsson's game was always defined by his work on the forecheck and in front of the net, but Phil Housley said that his increased upper-body strength gave him an added edge in those areas.
Then it came to an early end. Larsson was injured blocking a shot during the team's preseason game in Pittsburgh on Sept. 26. While the competition continued around him, Larsson began the regular season on injured reserve.

"It's always tough," Larsson said. "It hit me in the worst sport, I wasn't really comfortable at all. But I feel good now. It's good to be back."
Larsson was back on the ice for practice on Sunday, a low-volume session that lasted just over a half hour. He rotated on a line with Jeff Skinner, Patrik Berglund and Kyle Okposo. Housley said the forward's game status has yet to be determined.
When Larsson does return, he'll join an environment that remains competitive. The Sabres had 13 forwards at practice, with Vladimir Sobotka remaining absent due to an upper-body injury. Remi Elie was a sparkplug in his debut on Thursday, while Zemgus Girgensons and Evan Rodrigues have had strong starts to their season.
"I mean, you look at the players that are out, certainly there are going to be some decisions to be made," Housley said. "That always pushes players' games to a higher level. It's a good situation to be in. It's unfortunate that our guys are banged up a little bit but it's good to have depth."
Larsson recognizes the competition. He'll look to pick up where he left off and fight his way back into the lineup.
"I mean, there's a lot of good players," Larsson said. "I think you look around and it's competition. It's obviously tough to sit out. It happened. I'm ready if they want me. I felt good out there, so we'll see."

Elie's debut

Housley remarked on multiple occasions that he liked the offensive instincts he saw from Elie - known primarily as a physical presence - on film. Still, it was a surprise to see the forward step onto the ice for a 43-second shift on the power play in his first game as a Sabre on Saturday.
It turns out that shift wasn't by design. Elie laughed while explaining how he found his way out there.
"Honestly, I don't think I was supposed to go," he said. "We were missing a forward on the ice, so I just jumped on and I just tried to fill a couple spot there."
Power-play time aside, Elie was a force in his debut. He was an integral part of the team's 3-for-3 night on the penalty kill, accumulating 1:53 of shorthanded ice time, and came as advertised on the forecheck.
Elie wasted no time in making his presence felt, either. He delivered a loud hit on Adam McQuaid just five minutes into the game that Marco Scandella said provided a spark to the Buffalo bench.
"Absolutely," Scandella said, smiling. "Absolutely. He's a big body. You can see him out there, he's thick, and he's thicker than people realize. He's a pretty strong guy."

Killin' it

The Sabres won their game against the Rangers thanks in large part to their penalty kill, which came up big at crucial moments. Their kill of a holding the stick penalty against Kyle Okposo in the first period set the table for Conor Sheary to open the scoring, and they delivered again while protecting their two-goal lead in the third.
The Rangers generated 10 shots on goal between their three power plays, but the Sabres were ultimately happy with the job they did preventing quality chances. The key, Scandella said, was aggressiveness.
"We just pressured, pressured hard," Scandella said. "We got our chances to clear the puck and we got it out. I just felt like we were a box of four, five with the goalie, and we played smart. I feel like we're more aggressive this year and we have to keep doing that."
Housley echoed the sentiment.
"They're still getting used to the rotations and where the trigger points are to bring the pressure but for the most part, we're doing a good job of trying to keep the other team from picking pucks up off the wall and not get those good looks," he said.
"Obviously, New York had a really good power play yesterday. They shot the puck a lot. It required these guys in front to get sticks and try to box out as best as they could, but they did a very good job and they're getting used to it."