BUFFALO – In his first days here, Sabres defenseman Zach Metsa acknowledged his new surroundings felt “a little bit intimidating.”
“You come to a new spot, new group, new guys around you,” Metsa told the Times Herald prior to scoring his first NHL goal and point in Tuesday’s 5-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in KeyBank Center.
As an older, under-the-radar prospect who played on an AHL contract for two seasons, Metsa, 27, usually spent a few weeks here in September for training camp before reporting to the Rochester Americans.
Then the Quinnipiac University product, whose 39 assists led the Amerks last season, signed a two-way NHL contract on July 1. Suddenly, he was in the mix for a recall.
Metsa earned his first trip to the big leagues early, making his NHL debut Oct. 20, the first of four appearances that month. The Sabres summoned him again Dec. 8 to serve as an extra defenseman, and he has grown more comfortable over the past month.
“You quickly learn that it’s easy to be yourself and be comfortable here,” the rookie said. “So definitely a comfort thing has been super helpful for me.”
That comfort has boosted the 5-foot-9, 198-pound Metsa on the ice. After he sat out out five straight games last month, defenseman Conor Timmins broke his leg, creating an opportunity for him.
Sabres coach Lindy Ruff tries to balance his defense pairs with a lefty and righty, so Metsa, a right-handed shot like Timmins, started playing over Jacob Bryson.
After defenseman Michael Kesselring suffered a lower-body injury last Wednesday, Bryson moved back in, and he has been partnered alongside Metsa.
Tuesday was Metsa’s eighth straight appearance. While he usually skates short minutes – he had averaged 9 minutes, 55 seconds per outing entering the night – his sturdy play has caught Ruff’s eye.
“I think he’s an incredibly hard worker,” Ruff said Saturday in Columbus. “I think he understands the opportunity he’s been given and is trying to take advantage of every shift he gets. He has given us real good play. He’s broke the puck out well of the zone, defensively has played well, hasn’t been in on a lot of opportunities (against) and has a lot of good reads.”
Metsa, of course, has played limited minutes at various stages of his career. Still, in Rochester, where he scored 46 points in 69 games last season, he received loads of ice time. So with the Sabres, he said he approaches a game “a little bit different.”
“I don’t necessarily need to be the one taking chances,” Metsa said. “I’ll jump when I can, but it’s just kind of playing a little smarter and allowing (Rasmus Dahlin) and (Mattias Samuelsson) to take their big minutes, give them a little rest and make their plays.”
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The Sabres recalled defenseman Zac Jones, whose 28 assists lead the AHL, before the game and scratched him.
Having lost Kesselring to a lower-body injury last Wednesday in Dallas, the Sabres needed an extra defenseman.
The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Jones has compiled two goals and a team-high 30 points in 27 games for the Amerks this season. His 20 power-play assists also lead the league.
To create a roster spot for Jones, the Sabres placed Kesselring on injured reserve. The Sabres also put goalie Alex Lyon on injured reserve and activated winger Jason Zucker, who returned against the Canucks.
Before Jones, 25, signed with the Sabres on July 2, he compiled four goals and 28 points in 115 games with the New York Rangers.
The Sabres also scratched forwards Josh Dunne and Tyson Kozak.
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Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen started again Tuesday, his third straight nod and fifth in the last seven games.
In the near future, expect the Finn, who has played every game since Lyon suffered a lower-body injury, to earn a breather and take a backseat to Colten Ellis.
The Sabres play a road game Thursday against the New York Rangers before kicking off a five-game home stand Saturday versus the Anaheim Ducks.
Tuesday’s contest kicked off a stretch of 17 games in 31 days before the Olympic break begins.
“You look at the schedule, and we need both goalies,” Ruff said prior to the game. “So we’re not going to overplay anybody, we’re going to use both guys. In the meantime, we’ll get Lyon ready, too.”
Ellis hasn’t played since suffering a concussion Dec. 9 in Edmonton. He began backing up Luukkonen last Wednesday.
The rookie has played well for the Sabres at times this season, compiling a 4-3-0 record with a 3.25 goals-against average and an .895 save percentage in eight games.
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Ruff remembers Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers, the only active player from the Sabres’ last playoff team in 2010-11, bursting into the NHL as a scrawny teenager.
The 6-foot-8 Myers, who’s in his 17th NHL season, won the Calder Trophy as top rookie in 2009-10 as the Sabres captured the Northeast Division.
“(I remember) just how good he was just right off the bat,” Ruff said. “Maybe not quite strong enough, but his initial push as a young defenseman, you could tell he was going to be a real good defenseman.
“And he’s turned out to be, I think, probably more than I thought he would be.”