TORONTO – Had he kept recovering from the left shoulder injury he suffered in the preseason, Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said goalie Alex Lyon would’ve made his season debut Tuesday in Montreal.
Instead, as his teammates lost a 4-3 shootout to the Canadiens, Lyon, having suffered a setback in practice, was back in Buffalo.
“Now we’ll just see with rehab and stuff where he ends up,” Ruff said this morning in Scotiabank Arena.
Ruff said Lyon is progressing.
Goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen played Tuesday and is expected to start again tonight against the Maple Leafs.
Some other injury updates from Ruff are below.
– Captain Rasmus Dahlin, who’s day to day with an upper-body injury, has a 50-50 chance of playing Saturday when the Sabres close their three-game road trip in Montreal.
“I’m not going to rule him out yet,” Ruff said.
After shooting the puck in Monday afternoon’s 5-3 win over the Florida Panthers, Dahlin reached for his lower back and left the contest. Tonight will be the second game he has missed.
– Winger Jason Zucker, who underwent sports hernia surgery in early August, is getting closer to making his season debut.
Zucker joined his teammates last week and participated in this morning’s pregame skate.
“We’ve got a detailed plan for when he’ll get back,” Ruff said. “The more he practices, the closer he’s going to get.”
Ruff has a target date for Zucker’s return he wouldn’t divulge.
– Defenseman Conor Timmins, who suffered a lower-body injury when he crashed into the boards in the preseason finale, is getting closer to skating again.
– Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk is progressing from a lower-body injury.