BUFFALO – After hurrying back from a knee injury, Sabres defenseman Michael Kesselring said the ankle sprain he suffered just nine games into his season offered him a chance to “reset a little.”
Not that Kesselring, the Sabres’ biggest offseason acquisition, wanted to miss more time. But when he went down again Nov. 15, he said he was still battling his first injury a bit and “putting a lot of pressure” on himself.
“I didn’t play great when I came back,” he said before returning for Thursday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers in KeyBank Center.
These days, Kesselring, 25, finds himself in a better spot. He took his time recovering from his ankle injury, spending a few weeks off the ice before skating nearly every day during the Sabres’ recent six-game road trip.
“I feel a lot better than I did the first time with my other injury,” Kesselring said.
He said he will be dealing with the knee injury all year.
“So it’s something I just got to manage a bit, but they both feel really good right now,” he said.
The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Kesselring gives the Sabres an intriguing talent. Former general manager Kevyn Adams thought so highly of his talents he traded winger JJ Peterka to the Utah Mammoth so Owen Power could have a right-shot defenseman to skate alongside.
After he made his season debut Oct. 28 – he left the lineup for the first time late in the preseason – Kesselring hardly stood out, registering zero points and a minus-3 rating.
“I think he’s been trying to play catch-up from that first injury,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “I think he’s already said he feels better than he did the last time coming back. We know he’s a great skater, and I think that injury kind of set him back.”
Ruff said he simply wants Kesselring to make a first pass and get involved in the rush when an opportunity materializes.
“He’s got a great set of legs to get up ice,” he said.
Dealing with two injuries in about six weeks took a mental toll on Kesselring, who had never missed a game in pro hockey due to injury.
“So it’s different,” he said. “It’s not fun, especially on a new team. That was kind of the hardest part, new team and you want to make a good first impression.”
He certainly wanted to make a strong impression on Adams, who was fired Monday and replaced by Jarmo Kekalainen.
“I felt bad, personally, just because I didn’t play,” Kesselring said of Adams’ dismissal. “It was a big deal, and he seemed like a really good person. And he believed in me a lot. So it was tough to see him go. …
“But I think we’re all very excited for Jarmo, too. He seems like a straight shooter. He did a great job in Columbus. Maybe it’ll be good for the team to have that new head of the state, kind of.”
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The Sabres have three healthy goalies again.
Rookie Colten Ellis rejoined his teammates for Thursday’s pregame skate after clearing concussion protocol.
“He’s back at it,” Ruff said. “So he’ll get some practices in him and make sure he feels good.”
Ellis, 25, left the Sabres’ 4-3 overtime win Dec. 9 in Edmonton in the first period when Oilers forward David Tomasek drove to the net and hit him in the head.
But how much longer will the Sabres, who play the Philadelphia Flyers tonight, carry three goalies? In the near future, they could move a netminder.
Kekalainen said on Tuesday “we’re probably to a point where we’re going to have to start making decisions to get down to a two-goalie rotation.”
Goalie Alex Lyon started against the Flyers, his third straight nod, and was backed up by Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
Notes: With Kesselring back, the Sabres scratched defenseman Jacob Bryson. He skated in the warm-up because Ruff said Conor Timmins had an undisclosed injury and was a game-time decision. … The Sabres also scratched forward Josh Dunne and defenseman Zach Metsa (both healthy). … Sabres winger Peyton Krebs, who missed Wednesday’s practice because of illness, played against the Flyers.