Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) – The Buffalo Sabres were missing some players at practice on Friday that aren\u2019t seriously injured, but could miss Saturday\u2019s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.<\/p>\n
Alex Tuch missed Thursday\u2019s game, but was at practice with the rest of his teammates on Friday. Ruff had said had the game against the Washington Capitals been a playoff game, Tuch probably could\u2019ve played.<\/p>\n
“I\u2019m good, really good,” said Tuch on Friday following practice. “Today was better than yesterday, and I felt if I played yesterday, it would just continue to bother me. I\u2019d rather just get ahead of it with the amount of games we have coming down the stretch, and making a push towards the playoffs. I just don\u2019t want this to linger.”<\/p>\n
Not practicing on Friday included defenseman Mattias Samuelsson and winger Tanner Pearson.<\/p>\n
“‘Sammy\u2019s’ got some maintenance. He\u2019s a guy that may not be able to play, and Pearson, same thing. A little bit of a lower-body that, in all likelihood, for sure we\u2019ll hold him out,” Ruff said on Friday.<\/p>\n
The other player to miss practice Friday was goalie Colten Ellis, who backed up Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen on Thursday.<\/p>\n
“Something flared up on him from practice, so he\u2019s just getting checked out to make sure there\u2019s nothing serious,” Ruff said.<\/p>\n
The news was better about defenseman Conor Timmins, who has been out of the lineup since Dec. 20 with a broken leg.<\/p>\n
“He\u2019s pretty good,” the Sabres head coach said. “You could probably see him back with us practicing by tomorrow maybe. If not, we\u2019ll see how today went and I\u2019d say within the week.”<\/p>\n
Ruff now has options for his lineup, depending on who the Sabres are playing. On the back end, he has Zach Metsa, Michael Kesselring, Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn, while he has Pearson, Josh Dunne and Tyson Kozak up front.<\/p>\n
Ruff has a huge respect for how those guys have played, and the character that they have.<\/p>\n
“This is the group that got us there, and I still have a lot of time for all the guys,” he said. “From \u2018Kozy\u2019 to \u2018Dunner\u2019 to \u2018Kess\u2019 to \u2018Metz,\u2019 I\u2019ve got a lot of time and I\u2019ve got a lot of admiration for how much time they put in to help us be a better team.”<\/p>\n
Since the 2021-22 season, the NHL Edge Era has been going. Beck Malenstyn was clocked with a 24.94 miles-per-hour speed burst on Thursday, making it the fastest burst ever in the NHL Edge Era.<\/p>\n
“I saw that, and we actually talked about it. That\u2019s incredible,” Ruff acknowledged. “To hit 24 miles-per-hour in a league where there\u2019s a lot of fast guys, it speaks a lot.”<\/p>\n
Connor McDavid is considered the fastest player in the NHL, and his top speed of 24.61 mph is third.<\/p>\n
At 12:05 of the third period of last night\u2019s game, Beck Malenstyn recorded the fastest skating speed (24.94 mph) in the NHL EDGE era (since 2021-22). It marked the second time this season he reached 24 mph or faster (Nov. 28 vs. New Jersey; 24.06 mph). In 2025-26, the average\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/05pKXKoIY6<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Buffalo Sabres PR (@SabresPR) March 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n We have a new fastest speed burst in the NHL EDGE era \u203c\ufe0f@BuffaloSabres<\/a> forward Beck Malenstyn was clocked with a 24.94 mph max skating speed to best the previous mark set by Miles Wood (24.82 mph on April 10, 2025). #NHLStats<\/a>: https:\/\/t.co\/QnQrgI6dQh<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/9utUG5cuuF<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) March 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n FRIDAY\u2019S LINES:<\/p>\n Forwards:<\/p>\n Krebs – Thompson – Tuch (Kozak) Defense:<\/p>\n Byram – Power
Zucker – McLeod – Quinn
Ostlund – Norris – Doan
Benson – Carrick – Malenstyn<\/p>\n
Stanley – Schenn
Dahlin – Metsa
Dunne – Kesselring<\/p>\n