BUFFALO – If the Sabres were in the playoffs right now, winger Alex Tuch would likely be playing. But they want to be prudent dealing with his lower-body injury, so they held him out of Thursday’s 2-1 loss to the Washington Capitals.
Tuch said he felt “really good” after practicing today in LECOM Harborcenter. Coach Lindy Ruff said “it’s a possibility” the veteran could return for Saturday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs in KeyBank Center.
“Today was better than yesterday, and I just thought that if I played yesterday, that it would just continue to bother me, and I’d rather just get ahead of it with the amount of games we have coming down the stretch,” Tuch said.
Some other injury updates from Ruff are below.
– Defenseman Mattias Samuelsson missed today’s practice for maintenance and might sit out against Toronto.
Rookie Zach Metsa took his spot alongside captain Rasmus Dahlin.
– Winger Tanner Pearson, who made his Sabres debut against the Capitals, will likely missed Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury. Pearson did not practice today.
– Goalie Colten Ellis missed today’s session with what Ruff called “a little maintenance issue.”
“Something flared up on him from practice,” he said. “So he’s just getting checked out to just to make sure there’s nothing serious.”
– Defenseman Conor Timmins, who hasn’t played since breaking his leg Dec. 18, could skate with his teammates as soon as today.
“If not, I would say within the week,” Ruff said.