BUFFALO – Uh-oh. Tuesday’s 5-1 preseason win over the Columbus Blue Jackets’ junior varsity squad proved to be costly, as defensemen Mattias Samuelsson and Olen Zellweger both left the game with injuries.
Samuelsson, 26, blocked Luca Pinelli’s shot 4:36 into the second period before leaving the game around the halfway mark.
Coach Lindy Ruff said Samuelsson, the Sabres’ top shutdown defender, will be further evaluated Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Ruff said 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 the Sabres will have more information on both players Wednesday.
Zellweger, the Sabres’ biggest offseason acquisition, was playing his first game with his new team.
While Ruff said Soucy’s hit was clean, Sabres winger Beck Malenstyn fought the defenseman in the third period.
“The elbow was down,” Ruff said in KeyBank Center following the Sabres’ second preseason outing. “I think he just got caught kind of admiring his pass. I think the shoulder of the player got him right on the chin. But I don’t think that part hurt him. I think when he fell, it looked to me like he might’ve banged his head off the ice.
“I liked our response to the whole thing.”
After trading defenseman Bowen Byram to the Chicago Blackhawks, the Sabres dealt a prospect and a second-round pick to the Anaheim Ducks on June 26 in exchange for the offensive-minded Zellweger.
Zellweger has started his tenure in Buffalo playing alongside Owen Power on the second defense pair.
Noah Ostlund scored twice for the Sabres before a crowd of 16,328 fans. Josh Norris, Conor Timmins and Tage Thompson scored the other goals.
Carson Ceulemans scored late for Columbus.
Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped all 13 shots he faced in the opening 40 minutes. Colten Ellis played the third period, stopping 11 of 12 shots.