BUFFALO – In recent weeks, Sabres defenseman Owen Power has shaken off a slow start and recaptured some of the form that helped him enjoy a dynamic rookie season.
“He’s just played with more confidence, a little bit more calm with the puck and little bit more assertiveness physically without it,” Sabres coach Don Granato said Tuesday morning after announcing Power will be sidelined week to week with an upper-body injury. “I think a combination of those things, you’ve seen a progression in that over the last bit.”
Now, Power’s progression is stalled. Granato said the Sabres will know more in one week how much time the youngster will miss. He suffered the injury, possibly to his hand, during Monday’s practice.
“The hope (is) that the short end would be a couple weeks,” Granato said prior to the Sabres’ 7-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings in KeyBank Center.
In a dreary season, Power’s injury is just the Sabres’ latest setback. Defenseman Mattias Samuelsson recently underwent surgery to repair an upper-body injury and will miss the rest of the year.
Power, 21, and Samuelsson, 23, combine to play about 45 minutes each game, so the Sabres’ depth will be tested. Granato said defenseman Connor Clifton, who usually skates around 16 minutes on the third pairing, will “get quite a few more minutes.”
With the 6-foot-6, 221-pound Power sidelined, defenseman Jacob Bryson, who has played six games this season, moved into the lineup and played alongside Clifton. Granato said the Sabres also plan to recall another defenseman soon.
Bryson recorded an assist on winger JJ Peterka’s first-period goal, his first point this season.
In other lineup news, winger Victor Olofsson, a healthy scratch the last five games, replaced Eric Robinson at right wing alongside center Peyton Krebs and Zemgus Girgensons.
“You watch him every day, he’s kept himself ready and because of that you certainly want to see him be successful, as a coach,” Granato said of Olofsson.
