MONTREAL – Buffalo Sabres defenseman Michael Kesselring said it three times.
“I’m starving,” he said this afternoon following the Sabres’ pregame skate in the Bell Centre. “I’m starving. I’m starving.”
The oft-injured Kesselring, having played just 17 games this season, is starving for some action and to make an impact. More than three months into his first campaign with Buffalo, he’s starving to simply record his first point.
Following a one-game absence, Kesselring, 25, could return tonight against the Canadiens. Coach Lindy Ruff said he’s a game-time decision.
Kesserling missed Tuesday’s 5-3 win over the Nashville Predators after tweaking the high ankle sprain that recently sidelined him seven games.
“I take a hit and it goes back, I feel like, a week, it goes back 10 percent with how I’m feeling,” he said. “So I just want to feel at least around 90 percent when I’m playing, so that’s kind of why I sat out and just rehabbed the last few days again.
“And feel like I’m at 90, so I think I’ll be good to go tonight, and we’ll take it from there.”
Kesselring took rushes today alongside defenseman Jacob Bryson, while Zach Metsa skated as an extra alongside forward Tyson Kozak.
In his last outing, Kesselring looked hellbent on making in impact. Early in Saturday afternoon’s 5-4 overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild, he narrowly missed converting a scoring chance in front of the net and fought Marcus Foligno.
“It’s been really tough, honestly, mentally this year, and stuff like that,” he said. “I just wanted an impact. I honesty didn’t have him in my mind that game for the fight. But I just wanted to do something, and it worked out good. Really close off the post.”
Kesselring, who arrived in Buffalo as part of the JJ Peterka trade with the Utah Mammoth, also suffered a knee injury in training camp and hurt his ankle for the first time in mid-November.
“It’s been hard to get going, so I don’t want to go out there at 80 percent and I’m not playing well enough, and then I’m not playing, not moving well, not helping,” he said. “It’s better just for me to know that I can help the team. That’s kind of why I just took the few days to make sure I felt good.”
Before he left the lineup Dec. 31, Kesselring said he felt like he “was gaining some traction.”
“It’s tough right now, our D are playing really good,” he said. “They don’t want to break up the rhythm, we’re winning, so I just got find a way to get myself in there, play solid and just keep gaining trust and go from there.
“Honestly, just try to just make it pretty healthy to the (Olympic) break, and then I’ll get some time to heal up more. And then hopefully I can really push after that.”
In other news, goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is expected to start tonight.