BUFFALO – As winger Nicolas Aube-Kubel struggled after returning from an early-season knee injury, rookie Jiri Kulich established himself as one of the Sabres’ top forwards, entrenching himself in the NHL.
Right now, Kulich, 20, is centering the Sabres’ top line.
Then early last month, center Tyson Kozak, 22, made an immediate impact in his first NHL action, scoring a goal and showcasing a tenacious style.
As he kept being scratched – he had played just five of the last 19 games when the Sabres placed him on waivers Monday – a move felt imminent.
Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said Kulich’s emergence helped make Aube-Kubel, 28, expendable. He cleared waivers prior to Tuesday’s game against the Boston Bruins and was assigned to the Rochester Americans.
“I think what really pushed the decision is the fact that Kulich has played so well, and we want to keep progressing,” Ruff said in KeyBank Center.
To fill Aube-Kubel’s roster spot, the Sabres recalled Kozak, who centered Beck Malenstyn and Zach Benson on the fourth the line in Tuesday’s 7-2 win.
The Sabres signed Aube-Kubel to a one-year, $1.5 million contract July 1 as they overhauled their fourth line. In training camp, his mix of speed and grit helped him earn a spot in the opening night lineup.
But the knee injury he suffered in the opener took him out of his groove. He returned after an eight-game absence wearing a brace that likely hampered him.
“He came back from that … earlier than we expected,” Ruff said. “Admittedly, he said to me that he felt good but didn’t feel he skated as well as he did. I thought through camp he really skated well. But coming back it just didn’t seem like he was catching any traction.”
Aube-Kubel has compiled one goal, two points and a minus-4 rating in 19 games this season. The 9 minutes, 32 seconds of ice time he has average per game is the lowest among Buffalo’s forwards.
Don’t close the door on his career with the Sabres. After an 11-game stint with the Hershey Bears, Washington’s AHL affiliate, at the beginning of last season, he rebounded and played 63 total games for the Capitals.
Aube-Kubel, who won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022, could play for the Amerks in tonight’s home game against the Utica Comets.
It was only a matter of time before Kozak, a seventh-round pick in 2021, 193rd overall, returned to the Sabres.
He has made a strong impression on Ruff – “If you look at drawing penalties, his effort, physicality,” he said – in his first nine games. The youngster also scored a goal in his NHL debut Dec. 7 that was disallowed but should’ve counted.
“He stepped in those first two games, he really scored two goals in two games,” Ruff said. “He goes to the net well. He makes the guys the around him better in the role he’s playing. I really have like what he’s done when he’s been in the lineup.”
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The Sabres’ power play has recently showcased more movement, meaning forward Tage Thompson skates to spots other than the circle, where he has unleashed his wicked one-timers for years.
Captain Rasmus Dahlin, who quarterbacks the top power-play unit, said the movement allows the Sabres to use their “hockey IQ to not think about set plays.”
“When he’s moving, their PK is always worried about him, so it’s a good thing for us,” he said.
Motion, of course, makes it difficult for teams to key on Thompson.
“The other team realizes the big shot, and a lot of times if you’re not moving it, if your plan is to take that away, it becomes pretty easy,” Ruff said. “But when you move around, what it does is all of a sudden, (Jack) Quinn, who has a great shot, can make plays off that flank. (He) is open, and if they start to cover him a little bit, then a hole opens up.”
He added: “With him moving around, I think when Ras looks at it from up top, it gives him a couple more options.”
Notes: The Sabres scratched center Sam Lafferty and defensemen Connor Clifton and Dennis Gilbert. … Winger Brett Murray, whose 18 goals are tied with winger Isak Rosen for the Amerks’ lead this season, has been named to AHL All-Star Classic as a replacement. … Interim Bruins coach Joe Sacco was an assistant with the Sabres in 2013-14.