Bowen Byram was a key blue-liner when the Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2022, but with a deep defensive corps and a need for a second-line center, he was deemed expendable last year.
Byram was traded to Buffalo on March 6 in a deal that brought Casey Mittelstadt to Colorado. Byram will play his first game in Denver since the trade when the Sabres visit the Avalanche on Thursday night.
This is the second time Byram will face the team that selected him fourth overall in the 2019 draft. He had an assist in Colorado’s 5-4 win at Buffalo on Dec. 3. Byram was mainly used on the second pairing when he played with the Avalanche, but he is one of the top defensemen for the Sabres.
He is second on the team in ice time at 23:21 per game and is third among defensemen in points with 21 (four goals, 17 assists). He is eight points away from tying his career high set last season.
Tage Thompson leads the Sabres in scoring with 30 points (18 goals, 12 assists), and Alex Tuch is second with 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists).
Buffalo comes to Colorado off a 4-2 loss in Dallas in the second of a four-game road trip. The Sabres had won three straight before Tuesday night after a 0-10-3 stretch. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was in net nine times during the 13-game skid, but he has been solid most nights. He boasts a 2.95 goals-against average despite the Tuesday setback.
“I feel like those times when we get frustrated, we’re not playing on the same page. It plays against us,” Luukkonen said. “I think that’s what happens when we don’t get the offense we want.”
Luukkonen faced Colorado last month, when the Sabres led 4-0 after one period. The Avalanche then scored five straight goals — four in the third period — to steal the victory. That began a 10-3-0 stretch for Colorado, which is riding a five-game winning streak.
The Avalanche have dealt with plenty of injuries this season, and they sustained another one Tuesday in their 5-2 win over the visiting Winnipeg Jets.
Valeri Nichushkin left with a lower-body injury in the third period. That occurred the same night Jonathan Drouin returned from an upper-body injury that kept him out for 16 straight games. Drouin had two assists against the Jets in just his sixth game of the season.
Colorado did not practice Wednesday, so there was no update on Nichushkin’s status for Thursday night.
“It shouldn’t surprise me (if Nichushkin were sidelined), but it sucks,” coach Jared Bednar said. “We’ve talked about just trying to get deeper through our lineup. That will push us back up to four guys out again. It’s not easy. It makes your job that much more difficult.”
Bednar is fortunate that Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen have stayed healthy all year. MacKinnon leads the NHL in both points (61) and assists (47), and Rantanen is tied for third with 54 points (21 goals, 33 assists).
–Field Level Media
