BUFFALO – Sabres winger Alex Tuch called it “weirdly good timing.” While being away from the team was difficult, the hamstring injury he suffered allowed him to spend more time with his wife, Kylie, as they prepared for the birth of their son.
“It’s never a good time to get injured, but if I’m going to get injured and be able to 100 percent be there for the birth of my son, I’ll take it,” Tuch said this morning after skating with his teammates for the first time since getting injured Dec. 3.
On Saturday, Kylie gave birth to a boy, Tripp.
“It was a special moment, first born, I’ve heard a lot of stories,” he said. “I didn’t really know what to expect. All I can say is my wife is a warrior, 27 hours of labor and ended up having an emergency C-section. Never know what’s going to happen when you go in there. She was unbelievable.”
Tuch said Kylie’s “recovering well” and “Tripp’s doing great.”
“Oh, he’s awesome,” he said. “No, he’s amazing. It was a special moment and, yeah, you don’t really know until it happens.”
Tuch, who has missed three games, won’t play tonight against the Arizona Coyotes in KeyBank Center. He could return Wednesday in Colorado, where the Sabres begin a three-game road trip.
“It was his first skate with the team,” Sabres coach Don Granato said. “We still need to see a little bit more progress. But I would suspect it’s sooner than later. There’s high potential for next game after he gets a couple skates the way he felt today.”
In other news, defenseman Mattias Samuelsson left the morning skate early and is questionable for tonight’s game.
“Mattias is sore and finding out some information now on it,” Granato said. “So he’s not ruled OK yet.”
Update: Samuelsson isn’t on the ice for warm-ups.
If Samuelsson can’t play, rookie defenseman Ryan Johnson would likely move back in.
The Sabres will make one lineup change, inserting winger Brett Murray, who was recalled this morning when they sent rookie Isak Rosen back to the Rochester Americans. Murray skated this morning at left wing alongside center Tyson Jost and Victor Olofsson.
Murray hasn’t played an NHL game since Jan. 22, 2022. Check back later for more on him.
Goalie Devon Levi is expected to make his third straight start for the Sabres.
