The NHL’s holiday break roster freeze has lifted, allowing teams to shift players between the NHL and AHL once again. The Buffalo Sabres have taken advantage of the lift to reassign forward Isak Rosen and defenseman Ryan Johnson to the AHL’s Rochester Americans.
Johnson was, notably, called up to the lineup while Buffalo awaited the return of star defender Rasmus Dahlin, who spent the holiday break in Sweden with his fiance, who has faced medical concerns throughout the regular season. This move indicates that Dahlin will be back with the club when they face the St. Louis Blues on Monday, a plan that head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed to Bill Hoppe of Buffalo Hockey Beat.
Johnson has returned to his role of minor-league call-up this season. He has no scoring in three NHL games and 11 points in 25 AHL games this season. Those numbers are holding the mobile, two-way defender in that extra role – two seasons after he manageed just seven points, all assists, in 41 games of his rookie season in Buffalo. Johnson is still searching for his first NHL goal. That hunt will go on pause as he returns to a top-four role with the Americans.
Rosen has been a much bigger part of the Rochester lineup. He leads the team in goals and ranks third in points with 12 goals and 22 points in 15 games. That scoring puts Rosen on top of the AHL in points-per-game (1.47) among players with at least 15 games played. The hot scoring has begun to shine through to the NHL, with Rosen boasting seven points in 13 games this season. He will look to cement his spot in the lineup on his next call-up, which will likely come as soon as Buffalo needs a helping hand.
The Sabres leaned on Mattias Samuelsson with Dahlin out of the lineup on Saturday. Samuelsson put up a three-point night in return, the highest-scoring game of his six-year career. It was a standout performance when the Sabres needed one, and helped the club extend their win streak to a surprising eight games. Samuelsson’s performance could have Buffalo shifting around their blue-line, even after Dahlin returns.