BUFFALO – It took less than one week of training camp for injuries to the hit the Sabres hard.
When the Sabres open the season next Thursday on the road against the Columbus Blue Jackets, they could be without two of their top four defensemen.
Mattias Samuelsson, their top shutdown defender, is week to week with a lower-body injury he suffered blocking a shot in Tuesday’s 5-1 preseason win over Columbus, coach Lindy Ruff said.
Meanwhile, Ruff said defenseman Olen Zellweger, the Sabres’ biggest offseason acquisition, is in concussion protocol after getting leveled later in the game.
“You’ve got to approach this that (it’s) next man up, and I think we’ve got some depth on defense that short-term can help us out,” Ruff said following Wednesday’s session of camp in KeyBank Center. “It’s another man’s opportunity.”
Samuelsson, 26, blocked Luca Pinelli’s shot 4:36 into the second period before leaving the game around the halfway mark.
Ruff doesn’t have a firm recovery time for Samuelsson, who usually skates alongside captain Rasmus Dahlin on the top defense pair.
“It is one of those things where it can truly be week to week,” Ruff said. “Those weeks can get longer or they can get shorter. I’m not going to make a prediction.”
Zellweger, 23, suffered a concussion when Carson Soucy leveled him in the right faceoff circle 17:35 into the second period. Zellweger stayed on the ice for several moments before being helped off.
Ruff said Zellweger told him Wednesday he felt better.
“That’s very encouraging to me,” he said. “But I don’t want to get ahead of myself.”
Ruff, whose Sabres boast one of the NHL’s deepest blue lines, believes they can withstand the losses.
Still, it won’t be easy.
Samuelsson, who has battled injuries throughout his career, morphed into a defensive stud again last season, regularly facing the opponent’s top offensive threats while skating 22 minutes, 50 seconds per game. He also became an offensive contributor, setting career highs by scoring 13 goals and 41 points in 78 outings.
On Wednesday, newcomer Louis Crevier moved into Samuelsson’s spot alongside Dahlin, while Conor Timmins took Zellweger’s place with Owen Power.
Zach Metsa, who enjoyed a terrific rookie season last year, and Dennis Gilbert moved into the top six.
“You want to be a good team, you have to deal with adversity,” Ruff said. “We’re going to have to deal with adversity right off the bat. But again, I look at the depth we have there. I thought when you look at (the Columbus game), a guy like Crevier has a good night, very encouraging. Timmins had a good night.
“We could have a pair of Power and Dahlin, that they’ve played together in the past. That could eat up a lot of minutes and be a real good pair.”
Moving Power, who matured down the stretch last season, up alongside Dahlin seems like the easiest move. But putting together two first overall picks would also create a problem.
“That means two lefties (Dahlin and Power), and that’s going to put two righties together, which I’m not really a huge fan of,” Ruff said.
Among the other four defensemen who comprised the top six in Wednesday’s practice, only Gilbert is a left-handed shot.
Ruff said the Sabres hadn’t discussed looking outside the organization for help.
Zellweger, an offensive-minded, left-shot defender the Sabres acquired from the Anaheim Ducks after trading Bowen Byram, could leave protocol soon.
Crevier, one of the assets the Sabres received from the Chicago Blackhawks in the Byram deal, impressed Ruff on Tuesday.
“I liked his puck movement, his attempts on net,” Ruff said. “He kept the game simple, defended well. So you combine that with that first pass, he didn’t look for anything difficult. He made the play that was there. I thought he skated well, went back for pucks and broke it out well.”
The Sabres play their third preseason game tonight, a road contest against the Detroit Red Wings.