BUFFALO – Instead of easing Ryan Johnson into the lineup, Sabres coach Lindy Ruff tossed the defenseman headfirst into the fray, skating him nearly 21 minutes in his NHL season debut.
Not only did Johnson, 23, play the third-highest total of his short career (20:50), he earned a plum assignment playing alongside Bowen Byram throughout Monday’s 6-5 shootout loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
When Johnson’s turnover in the corner led to Alex DeBrincat’s tying goal barely four minutes into the contest, Ruff kept utilizing him.
“I thought he looked a little uncomfortable to start the game, which coming up, playing your first game, I think is normal,” Ruff said prior to Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers in KeyBank Center. “As the game went on, I thought he found a better place inside the game.”
The affable Johnson, the 31st overall pick in 2019, is grateful for Ruff’s trust and what he called “an amazing opportunity.”
“To be put in that role was really fun,” he said. “It was good experience, for sure. Playing with Bo made it easy breaking out a lot of the pucks.”
Johnson played with Byram again Wednesday.
Remember, Johnson had never played a game for Ruff, who took over this season. The youngster stayed in Buffalo when the team traveled overseas to finish training camp and begin the regular season, so Ruff hadn’t seen him much up close prior to his recall last week.
But Ruff heard good reports about Johnson’s performance and commitment with the Rochester Americans – “How dedicated he is to the game and his craft as a defenseman,” he said – and was intrigued by his strong skating ability.
The Sabres, of course, need more speed with captain Rasmus Dahlin, their top defenseman, injured.
“We’re looking for skating, getting back in a hurry, breaking out in a hurry, getting up ice in a hurry,” Ruff said. “I thought first game, the early goal, not really his fault. I didn’t like our breakout. I think that’s where he could have communicated a little bit better on the breakout, but No. 1, we looked at skating.”
Johnson, the Sabres’ top defense prospect, returned to the AHL this year for more seasoning after playing 41 games with the Sabres as a rookie in 2023-24.
He has spent the entire season playing alongside Jack Rathbone on the Amerks’ top defense tandem, eating up minutes while facing the opposition’s top talent.
“I think it did help a lot,” the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Johnson said of his role in Rochester. “I think it more than prepared me physically. … Playing that role, with those big minutes and penalty kill, I think, too, was very helpful and also translates, right?”
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Ruff said Dahlin, who has missed four games since suffering back spasms last Tuesday, likely won’t practice today (right now, the Sabres have a scheduled day off, so he possibly meant Friday).
Ruff said he can give more information on Dahlin’s status today. He said Monday the Swede could be ready to play this weekend.
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Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson played Wednesday after missing 12 games with a lower-body injury. To make room, the Sabres scratched defenseman Jacob Bryson, who had played 17 straight games.
Samuelsson skated alongside Connor Clifton.
Up front, the Sabres inserted rookie center Jiri Kulich, who sat out Monday’s contest as a healthy scratch. The Sabres on Tuesday sent rookie center Tyson Kozak, who played against Detroit, back to Rochester.
The Sabres also scratched winger Jack Quinn and defenseman Dennis Gilbert (both healthy).
The #Bills and #Sabres had a forgettable weekend. @billhoppe.bsky.social and I get into Allen’s historic game, McDermott’s tough day and postgame comments, the Sabres’ skid and Kevyn Adams’s press conference.
fireside.fm/episode/sMvb…— Nick Sabato (@nicksabatognn.bsky.social) December 11, 2024 at 2:57 PM
Lots of skill players on this team. Unfortunately we get pushed around because we don’t have an enforcer, which is even more important with so many high skill players, and STILL necessary in this league. It’s a small ice surface. Addams has not put together a competitive team. Retooling the bottom six in one year? Not a good look.