Buffalo Sabres defenseman Owen Power will miss the team’s Tuesday night game, per head coach Don Granato, who shares that the former first-overall pick could miss a few games. Power left the team’s Monday practice with an apparent hand injury and isn’t expected to be out long-term.
Power becomes the third impact player to suffer injury recently, with Buffalo also set to be without Mattias Samuelsson for the remainder of the season and Jack Quinn for the next eight weeks. Power plays the biggest role of the trio, averaging over 22 minutes a game through 51 games this season. He’s scored two goals and 18 points, a step down in his scoring pace from last season when he totaled 35 points in 79 games. The 21-year-old is in his second full NHL season since being drafted with the top selection in the 2021 NHL Draft. He’s totaled 138 career games and 56 points – ranked third in his draft class in career games behind Cole Sillinger and J.J. Moser.
Power’s absence will likely open space for rookie Ryan Johnson to take on an expanded role. Johnson was the Sabres first-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and made his NHL debut this season – playing in a total of 32 games and recording six assists. It’s Johnson’s first season of professional hockey, with the 22-year-old also tallying four assists in nine AHL games this season. He’s still searching for his first professional goal – though scoring goals has never been his forte, as he totaled just nine goals across four seasons and 143 games with the University of Minnesota. Jacob Bryson will also benefit from Power’s absence. The 26-year-old has appeared in just five NHL games this season and is still searching through his first point of the year.
Well, we knew it wasn’t because of a hit…