Sabres Hit Hard By Injury and Illness

The Buffalo Sabres are heading into a three game road trek decimated by injury and Illness. The results of this road trip will go a long way in determining the Sabres fate in this vitally important season. From the time the season began the team has been unable to play with their full complement of regular roster players.

It is difficult to fairly evaluate the performance of the 25-26 Sabres to date due to key pieces of the lineup being unavailable. Every team must cope with injury and Illness issues throughout a season, but to date Buffalo has dealt with more than its share thus far.

Top center Josh Norris remains sidelined after being injured in the season opener. He began skating in early November.
Team captain Rasmus Dahlin is on a leave of absence from the club and has returned to Sweden to be with his fiancée who is recovering from heart transplant surgery.
Jiri Kulich was initially sidelined due to fluid in his ears. Doctors confirmed the ailment to be related to a blood clot. The talented second year forward will miss significant time.
Winger Jason Zucker is suffering from a flu-like illness.He did not accompany the team on the road trip.
Zach Benson has been on injured reserve since October 31st and has recently begun skating on his own.
Forward Justin Danforth has been lost to the Sabres since blocking a shot in a game on October 15th. The projection for his return had him likely missing more than a month.

Sabres at bottom of East but parity helps

While Buffalo is currently in last place in the Eastern Conference standings, they are just four points behind Tampa Bay and Philadelphia who hold down the final playoff wild card positions. The Sabres have lost their last two contests in regulation and need to secure points over the next three games to move up in the postseason chase.

Buffalo has yet to win a game away from home so far this season. With visits to Utah, Colorado and Detroit slated for this week the time to gain desperately needed points is now. They must secure wins while key components to the roster continue to be on the sidelines.

Leaders Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch need to be at their best. In addition, maximum effort will be required throughout the makeshift roster to come out on top in the games ahead.

American Thanksgiving typically provides a benchmark for teams in terms of projected playoff positioning.

The Sabres will have to gain valuable points in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving in order to stay within striking distance of the postseason cutoff line. More immediately, the team is in Utah to take on the Mammoth.