Armia's game condition off so Schaller gets the call
Joel Armia deserved a chance to play his first NHL games with the Buffalo Sabres back in November, when he was often providing a dazzling display of puck prowess with the Rochester Americans.
At the time, however, the Sabres didn't need replacements. The NHL team was healthy.
Then Armia suffered an upper body injury in late November and couldn't play. So what happens? Forwards for the Sabres started to get hurt and Armia was unable to go up.
Now he's back, and playing well, and the Sabres have been in serious need of players the past two days.
Except, Armia's fitness level isn't where it needs to be for an NHL debut. So as of right now, he's starting his Christmas break.
Tim Schaller is going up to Buffalo and will play in the heart of his native New England on Sunday night. A native of New Hampshire and product of Providence College, Schaller will play for the Sabres in Boston against the Bruins.
He joins Mikhail Grigorenko and Johan Larsson, who were promoted on Saturday. Grigorenko went back to Buffalo in the morning. Larsson was summoned at around 5 p.m. when Matt Moulson came down with an illness. He made it just in time for the game.
Then Patrick Kaleta left Saturday night's 5-1 loss to the Avalanche because of illness, so Schaller got the call after the Amerks 4-2 loss to the Milwaukee Admirals.
Also, Amerks defenseman Mark Pysyk was called up tonight because Tyler Myers was hurt against Colorado.
Why not give Armia his first look? After all, he scored a goal Saturday and has 7-9-16 in 21 games.
The answer: Because his fitness level isn't where it needs to be.
He was off the ice over three weeks. He was cleared to return to game action on Friday and was terrific for two periods. But he began to show signs of fatigue. On Saturday, he had moments of brilliance, and again showed that few players in the AHL have his puck savvy.
Still, if he deserved an A or A-minus on Friday, he maybe gets a B or B-minus for Saturday.
He knows his five-day Christmas break in Rochester won't be a lounge-around vacation.
"The last two games were pretty hard," he said. "I don't think I played the best game tonight.
"I hope during the Christmas break I can do some training and get into good game shape."
Said Amerks coach Chadd Cassidy: "He looked fatigued (tonight). He didn't have the jump he did last night. But he still had the puck the whole game, it seemed."
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Defenseman Chad Ruhwedel suffered an upper body injury in the second period and didn't return.
Cassidy said it's believed to be a minor injury and that Ruhwedel should be fine coming out of the break to play Friday against Lake Erie.
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As if William Carrier isn't in a big enough slump, now when he does deflect a shot, it ends up in the Amerks net.
The rookie left winger tried to block a Brendan Leipsic dump-in from center and ended up redirecting it past goalie Andrey Makarov.
Granted the deflection came at the Amerks blue line. But Makarov was committed to a low shot in a different direction and was unable to close his legs when it came at him higher.
Carrier has gone 13 games without a point and has just one goal in the past 24 games. He had a 1-3-4 in his first three games. He must start producing after the Christmas break.
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Goalie Nathan Lieuwen wasn't in uniform on Saturday due to a lower body injury, which he apparently suffered during Friday's 3-2 shootout victory over Adirondack.
Lieuwen was a perfect 7-for-7 in the shootout, with an acrobatic glove save on the seventh shot, but did require treatment in the medical room following the game. He seemed to be in some discomfort when walking afterward.
Travis Fullerton came up from ECHL Elmira to be the Amerks backup.
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Third-year forward Kevin Sundher was a healthy scratch for the seventh consecutive game; the Amerks opted to dress seven defensemen and 11 forwards.
Sundher has sat out 12 of the past 17 games, with another game day in that stretch spent playing for Elmira.
He has just one assist in the 15 games in which he played.