Rasmus Asplund is available to play for the Sabres on Monday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, coach Don Granato announced Sunday.
Asplund participated in practice at KeyBank Center after missing the last two games with an upper-body injury.
“I wasn’t comfortable the other day putting him in with how he needs to play,” Granato said. “Today’s practice cleared that up for me.”
Asplund has six points (2+4) in 17 games this season. He ranks second among Sabres forwards in shorthanded ice time per game.
Here are more notes from Sunday’s practice.
1. The Sabres lost 5-3 in their first meeting with the Lightning in Tampa on November 5.
Playing without three of their top defensemen in Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson, and Henri Jokiharju, the Sabres fought their way to a 3-2 lead in the third period before the Lightning rattled off three unanswered goals.
Granato credited the experience of the Lightning – winners of the Eastern Conference in each of the past three seasons – as the difference down the stretch.
“I thought we did an exceptional job of closing quick, and that kept the game very tight,” Granato recalled Sunday. “We had enough chances to win, but they had enough finish to win. I remember after that game saying the difference was their experience. I thought our effort was great, our focus was great, even our execution. Their experience shone through.”
Now healthier on defense, the Sabres won back-to-back games against Montreal and St. Louis last week before dropping a competitive game to New Jersey on Friday.
“This time around, I like where we’re at,” Granato said. “I don’t want to make it about Tampa tomorrow. It’s about us playing our game.”
Video: AFTER PRACTICE: Granato
2. Here’s how the Sabres lined up during practice:
| November 27 | ||
|---|---|---|
| LW | C | RW |
| 53 Jeff Skinner | 72 Tage Thompson | 89 Alex Tuch |
| 77 JJ Peterka | 24 Dylan Cozens | 22 Jack Quinn |
| 71 Victor Olofsson | 37 Casey Mittelstadt | 29 Vinnie Hinostroza |
| 28 Zemgus Girgensons | 17 Tyson Jost | 21 Kyle Okposo |
| 74 Rasmus Asplund | 19 Peyton Krebs | |
| LD | RD | G |
| 23 Mattias Samuelsson | 26 Rasmus Dahlin | 41 Craig Anderson |
| 25 Owen Power | 10 Henri Jokiharju | 1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen |
| 45 Casey Fitzgerald | 46 Ilya Lyubushkin | |
| 20 Lawrence Pilut | ||
3. The line of JJ Peterka, Dylan Cozens, and Jack Quinn has progressively established itself as an offensive threat for the Sabres despite their youth. Cozens is the elder statesman of the trio at 21 years old; Quinn and Peterka are both less than two months into their rookie seasons.
The Sabres have generated 61.29 percent of high-danger scoring chances when the trio has been on the ice at 5-on-5, according to Natural Stat Trick.
“There’s lots to like from just the skill level, the talent that’s on the ice,” Granato said. “The compete. … The three of them together, they developed a chemistry on the ice. On the bench, they communicate really well. And Cozens is a leader, we know that. Now he’s got two guys that unequivocally, he can lead. He’s doing a great job of that.”