ANAHEIM, Calif. – Center Cody Eakin took the Honda Center ice in a gold noncontact jersey Thursday morning but that didn't stop him from jumping into some drills. He missed his fourth straight game as the Sabres opened their four-game Western road trip against the Anaheim Ducks but his presence on the trip, and his work on ice, seem to indicate he will be back in the lineup very soon.
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"I was happily surprised with Cody today, he looked way better (than expected)," coach Don Granato said. "I didn't go into it with much expectation. I thought he would stay out of anything close to a contact situation. He just wouldn't. He jumped right in. So he is definitely feeling better. But no timetable yet."
Eakin had a goal and two points as well as a 60.7% success rate on faceoffs during his first three games before he suffered an upper-body injury when he crashed into a net during practice on Oct. 20. He had been centering alternate captains Zemgus Girgensons and Kyle Okposo, but his absence has pushed Girgensons back in the middle between Okposo and Drake Caggiula.
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"We'll get a better gauge the next couple of days as he gets into more contact in practice, but very encouraging," Granato said. "And he looks good. He's been skating on his own over the last couple of days. His energy, his speed and quickness look good today."
Another backup in opposing net
The Ducks were on a back-to-back and headed for a game Friday night in Vegas after this one, so they used backup Anthony Stolarz against the Sabres to save starter John Gibson for the game against the Golden Knights. Gibson has played five of the first seven games, going 2-2-1, 2.94/.909 while Stolarz entered Thursday's gamed at 0-2, 3.57/.911.
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The only starter the Sabres have faced at the time of their game thus far is Vancouver's Thatcher Demko, who suffered a 5-2 defeat at the hands of Buffalo on Oct. 19 in KeyBank Center.
Ex-Sabre Linus Ullmark was making his Bruins debut in the season's third game when he beat Buffalo last week and Arizona rookie Karel Vejmelka made his NHL debut in Buffalo's 2-1 shootout win on Oct. 16. Vejmelka has since become the Coyotes' starter as ex-Sabre Carter Hutton is on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.
Wilford back in SoCal
New Sabres assistant coach Marty Wilford was back in Honda Center Thursday after spending the last three years as an assistant coach for the Ducks. He was in the Anaheim organization at various levels for the last 10 years before he was fired by Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins after last season.
Wilford played under Granato during the 1997-98 season for the ECHL's Columbus Chill and they reconnected over the summer as Wilford joined the staff in July. Wilford was an AHL regular from 2000-2007 but did not get a game in the NHL.
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"We didn't spend a lot of time together but I enjoyed him then," Granato said of the Columbus experience. "I just thought he was full of life and personality at that age (21). And he showed it during the interview process this past year. He's been awesome to have on our staff. He just brings a different kind of positive energy and enthusiasm.
"He's approachable to all and his messaging is not only clear and concise because he's experienced, but there's some love duty, fun-loving energy to it. He gets his message through in intense situations and doesn't make the player tense about it. And that's a gift. That's a talent."
Time management
Prior to their first trip to the West Coast since October of 2019, the Sabres practiced in Buffalo on Wednesday before flying here, a departure from previous trips here where they would often fly in the morning and practice when they landed in California to push the players on time-change adjustment. Granato said there was no deep reason for the practice-then-fly decision.
"We didn't overthink it," Granato said. "It's just easier I guess to practice in our building with familiarity and routine. Instead of breaking that routine. It just was simple. So we didn't put a lot of thought into it. It was more convenience, easier to just do it for the travel schedule."
Movin' up the highway
The Sabres will shift their operations about 30 miles north for the next three days, practicing Friday and Saturday in the Los Angeles Kings' facility in suburban El Segundo and then meeting the Kings in a matinee Sunday in Staples Center that faces off at 4 p.m. EST.
The Kings are playing Montreal here on Saturday afternoon, and the El Segundo dual-rink facility will be buzzing with activity on Friday as all three teams are scheduled to be on the ice there. The Kings and Montreal will skate first in the morning followed by the Sabres in the afternoon.