It may have been the most optional practice of the year for the Buffalo Sabres. There were just six players on the ice. One was goaltender Chad Johnson. One was Tyler Ennis, a member of the team’s injured reserve list. They joined Cal O’Reilly, Jake McCabe, Nicolas Deslauriers and Carlo Colaiacovo for about a 45-minute session with the assistant coaching staff.
Heck, even head coach Dan Bylsma took a day off from the skates.
It was a needed break for the Sabres, who are in the midst of a brutal schedule. However you slice the segments, December has been a lot of games in not many days with a western road swing thrown in for good measure.