The injury bug has hit the Buffalo Sabres hard in this playoff series, and as we prepare for the almighty Game 7 tonight at the WFC, there’s quite a bit of news in terms of their roster.
According to the Buffalo News, Patrick Kaleta, Jordan Leopold and Mike Grier could be out of the lineup for the Sabres this evening. They didn’t participate in the morning skate.
Reporter Mike Harrington reports that Kaleta is definitely out tonight, while the other two are game-time decisions. That’s in addition to the injuries to Jason Pominville and Tim Connolly, who are both out with injuries of their own.
These are all huge losses for the Sabres. Leopold is one of their top defensemen, we all know what Kaleta brings and Grier is a fantastic lower-tier forward. Pominville and Connolly are obviously top scorers, too. There will be a boost from Derek Roy‘s return, but the paper also reports that there were a few mental mistakes by him in the skate this AM.
If the guy isn’t on point in the morning skate, it’s hard to believe he’ll be even close to effective in a Game 7 after missing four months of action. Then again, Game 7’s can be strange. Who knows what will happen? Jochen Hecht could also be back for Buffalo.
Overall, though, the Sabres should be even easier to contain offensively tonight if Brian Boucher can put together even a decent performance.
