BUFFALO – Expect to see center Sam Carrick, who has missed the last 13 games with a left arm injury, play during the Sabres’ second-round series against the Montreal Canadiens.
Carrick on Tuesday practiced for the first time since getting injured in a fight March 31.
“He’s out there right now getting some contact,” Ruff said following Tuesday’s practice. “His fitness levels are good, everything. His return to play, he’s worked really hard to get ready.”
Ruff said Carrick, who skated as an extra, is day to day.
The Sabres begin their best-of-seven series Wednesday at KeyBank Center. In Carrick’s absence in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Boston Bruins, Josh Dunne and Tyson Kozak centered the fourth line.
Carrick, 34, hasn’t hasn’t played since he fell and landed on his arm as he fought New York Islanders forward Anders Lee.
“I didn’t break any bones; it wasn’t my shoulder,” Carrick said. “Yeah, just a freak accident. I’ve been in lots of fights in my career, and it was the first time that’s happened. Unfortunate, the timing, but it’s been a good, long road to get back to here.”
Carrick said the Sabres did not have a firm timeline for his recovery because he suffered an uncommon hockey injury.
“We don’t really have a lot of baseline to go off of,” he said. “I was originally told it could be four to six weeks, it could be six to eight weeks, we don’t know. So kind of had that sixth week as my goal. And huge credit to our training staff here.”
In his first weeks with the Sabres after arriving on March 6 in a trade with the New York Rangers, Carrick quickly established himself as a sturdy and versatile presence.
In addition to winning critical faceoffs and killing penalties, Carrick scored five goals and fought twice in his first 13 games.
While it’s a small sample size, his 57.3 faceoff percentage ranked first on the Sabres.
“He brings a guy on the right side, a right-handed draw with strong faceoff numbers,” Ruff said. “That’s an area we’ve been weak at, so definitely can use the help, and that’s what we were counting on when we got him.”
In other news, center prospect Konsta Helenius, one of the Black Aces the Sabres recently summoned from the Rochester Americans, practiced on Tuesday as an extra with the main group.
The recalls usually skate together as group.
“He’s played a lot of center,” Ruff said. “I think with (Noah) Ostlund out, we have another center for practice.”
Helenius, 19, earned his first NHL action this season, scoring one goal and four points in nine games. He enjoyed a terrific year in the AHL, registering 21 goals and 62 points, a total that tied for the team lead, in 63 contests.
The Sabres drafted the Finn 14th overall in 2024.