Bowen Byram played a crucial role on defense when the Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2022. However, due to the team’s deep defensive group and a need for a second-line center, he was traded last year.
Byram was sent to Buffalo on March 6 in exchange for Casey Mittelstadt. On Thursday night, Byram will play in Denver for the first time since the trade when the Sabres face the Avalanche.
This will be the second time Byram plays against the team that drafted him fourth overall in 2019. He recorded an assist in Colorado’s 5-4 victory at Buffalo on December 3. While he was mostly on the second defensive pairing in Colorado, he has become one of the top defensemen for the Sabres.
Byram ranks second on the team in ice time, averaging 23:21 per game, and he is third among defensemen in points with 21 (four goals, 17 assists). He is just eight points away from matching his career-high total set last season.
Tage Thompson leads the Sabres in scoring with 30 points (18 goals, 12 assists), while Alex Tuch is second with 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists).
Buffalo enters Colorado after a 4-2 loss to Dallas in the second game of a four-game road trip. Before Tuesday night, the Sabres had won three straight after going 0-10-3. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen played in nine of the 13 games during that rough stretch, but he has been solid overall, holding a 2.95 goals-against average despite the loss.
“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 played against Colorado last month, when the Sabres had a 4-0 lead after the first period. However, the Avalanche scored five straight goals, including four in the third period, to win the game. That started a 10-3-0 run for Colorado, which is now on a five-game winning streak.
The Avalanche have dealt with several injuries this season, including another one Tuesday during their 5-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets.
Valeri Nichushkin left the game with a lower-body injury in the third period. This happened the same night Jonathan Drouin returned from an upper-body injury that had kept him out for 16 games. Drouin had two assists in just his sixth game of the season.
Colorado did not practice on Wednesday, so there was no update on Nichushkin’s status for Thursday’s game.
“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 remained healthy all season. MacKinnon leads the NHL in both points (61) and assists (47), while Rantanen is tied for third with 54 points (21 goals, 33 assists).
