Buffalo Sabres healthy scratches Ryan McLeod and Louis Crevier vs. Columbus, Digi Mart USA News: Buffalo Sabres forward Ryan McLeod and defenseman Louis Crevier will sit out Friday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets as healthy scratches, according to a report by The Athletic’s Matthew Fairburn. McLeod and Crevier were both in the lineup for the Sabres in their 2-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday, although neither played significant minutes.
McLeod ranked eighth among Sabres forwards with 13:16 of ice time, while Crevier finished the game with just 8:05, the lowest of any defenseman on either team. With the loss to the Senators, the Sabres fell to 7-5-3 with 17 points in 15 games to start the 2026-27 regular season.
Jiri Kulich and Conor Timmins are expected to draw into the lineup for McLeod and Crevier in Friday’s game against Columbus at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. Fairburn posted on X that McLeod was a healthy scratch for the Sabres and that it sounded like Crevier would also be a healthy scratch.
McLeod, 27, has one goal and three points through 15 games with the Sabres this season. The 6’3″ center is coming off back-to-back 50-point seasons after being acquired from the Edmonton Oilers in 2024 in exchange for Matt Savoie.
His average ice time is down to 14:56 this season, a decrease of more than two minutes from last year.
The Oilers originally selected McLeod in the second round (No. 40 overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft. The Mississauga, Ont.
product began his career with parts of four seasons in Edmonton, most notably helping the club reach the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, before being traded to Buffalo. He is under contract with the Sabres through 2029 at a $5 million annual cap hit.
Crevier, 25, has one assist in 15 games with the 2026-27 Sabres. Acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks over the summer as part of the Bowen Byram trade, he signed a four-year, $4 million AAV extension with the Sabres in October.
He has logged only 12:52 per night early in his Sabres tenure, far below the 17:08 he averaged over 78 games with the Blackhawks last season.
A seventh-round pick (No. 188 overall) of the Blackhawks in the 2020 NHL Draft, Crevier appeared in 134 games over parts of three seasons in Chicago before being sent to Buffalo in a package with the No. 4 and 45 picks in 2026 in exchange for Byram and Jordan Greenway.
The Sabres and Blue Jackets are scheduled to face off in Buffalo on Friday at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
