Practice Report | Dahlin progressing toward return

The Buffalo Sabres remained without Rasmus Dahlin during Friday’s practice at KeyBank Center. The defenseman, continuing to recover from back spasms, has missed four games after leaving the Dec. 3 loss versus Colorado.

Though absent from the team session, Dahlin skated before practice and continues to progress toward a return to the lineup, coach Lindy Ruff said.

“The good part is he’s skating and he’s getting some conditioning in,” Ruff said. “The hard part is you’d like get into practice and battles, but we’re not quite there yet.”

And while Buffalo’s captain has been unavailable to help the team on the ice, he’s continued to lead the Sabres as they seek to snap their eight-game winless stretch.

“He’s 100 percent invested in what’s going on,” Ruff said. “It’s not like he’s injured and sitting on the outside. So I think it’s killing him like it’s killing everyone else.”

Jordan Greenway also missed practice due to residual soreness from his recent middle-body injury.

“The training staff thought it’d be a good thing if he just stayed off,” Ruff said, leaving open the possibility that Greenway misses Saturday’s game at Washington.

Here’s more from Friday’s practice.

Friday’s practice lines

Forward Jack Quinn, a healthy scratch for Buffalo’s last four games, skated with Jason Zucker and Ryan McLeod on the third line. Zucker moved from right wing to left wing with Greenway absent.

Here are the full lines from practice:

News and notes

1. The Sabres continue tinkering with their power-play units as they look to snap out of a 1-for-26 man-advantage slump over their last 10 games.

Here are the units from Friday’s practice:

The most notable adjustment saw Tage Thompson vacate his position on the left or right circle. He instead occupied the bumper position, albeit with plenty of movement around and behind the net.

“Looking to get Tommer in a different spot where he’s not covered all the time, where we can get more motion,” Ruff said. “He can empty that bumper position and get a little bit more rotation, he can pop up as the high guy, almost the same type of shot you've seen Cozens have several times on the power play.”

Conventional wisdom may say keep your best shooter in a shooting position, but a more mobile Thompson could help break up defensive structure and create passing and shooting lanes. The 6-foot-6 forward figures to provide effective net-front screens, too.

2. Forward Sam Lafferty returned to practice for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury Nov. 29 versus Vancouver. Ruff said the 29-year-old could re-enter Buffalo's lineup at some point this weekend.

When he does return, Lafferty projects to slot back into the fourth-line center position between Beck Malenstyn and Nicolas Aube-Kubel. That trio has logged 28:12 of 5-on-5 ice time this season and held a 25-16 advantage in shot attempts.

“Sam’s obviously a huge part of our group,” Malenstyn said. “Brings a lot of energy, a lot of speed, and someone I really enjoy playing with, too. He really flies up and down the ice.

“He looked great on the ice today, and we’re going to be excited once he gets back.”

Up next

Buffalo’s three-game road trip begins Saturday night against the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals.

Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7.