BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Sabres winger Jack Quinn has returned to practice two months after sustaining a lower-body injury and could enter the lineup as soon as Wednesday night, coach Don Granato said.
“He’s very close,” Granato said following Tuesday’s practice at KeyBank Center. “I would say he’s officially day to day, meaning it could be tomorrow, based on a conversation we’ll have following this.”
Standing six points out of playoff position with 10 games left in the regular season, the Sabres begin a five-game homestand against the Ottawa Senators, and two of the next four contests are against teams Buffalo needs to overtake in the wild-card race, New Jersey on Friday and Washington on Tuesday.
The 22-year-old Quinn, after missing the first two months of the season following offseason surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon, had five goals and 12 points in 17 games before getting hurt Jan. 27 in San Jose. The Sabres have gone 12-10-1 in the 23 games Quinn has missed.
“I always had in my head that I wanted to be back this year,” said Quinn, who went through rehabilitation skates last week while the Sabres were on a four-game road trip out west.
Granato said that Quinn “looked really good” practicing on a line with center Dylan Cozens and winger JJ Peterka, and that his return will benefit Buffalo’s forwards up and down the lineup.
“Everyone loves him so there’s that dynamic, his energy, his vibrance and passion for the game,” Granato said. “It makes everyone else better because now there is one more talented scorer that’s dangerous that the other team has to pay attention to.”
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Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB squad in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. The Buffalonian has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in Western New York since 2005, for publications including The Associated Press, The Buffalo News, and Niagara Gazette. Read more of his work here.