BUFFALO, N.Y. — There’s been a little fluctuation in the injury list for the Buffalo Sabres, but also a little bit of momentum as the week rolls along on the ice at KeyBank Center.
“The more of our guys we can get back on the lineup, the more it’s going to help,” said forward Jack Quinn, who opened up the scoring in Wednesday night’s 8-4 route of the Ottawa Senators.
In that opening win for the Blue and Gold, forward Zach Benson racked up four assists in his return from injury, and will rock the full facemask ‘bubble’ just a bit longer.
“You want to do that every game and help this team win in any way you can,” he said. “You got [Michael Kesselring], who’s a horse back there and plays in your top-four, right side. You got [Jordan Greenway], who is huge on the PK, great stick and obviously a big boy that throws his weight around.”
Greenway was a welcome addition to the ice Friday morning in a non-contact jersey.
“Everyone will be huge for the team,” he noted as he is far from the only Sabre looking to make it back onto game ice. “A big burst of energy and I think guys are looking forward to it.”
As the Sabres slowly but surely get more healthy, their next challenge in a long stretch of Atlantic Division games is the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
“We took a look at the schedule in whole, just this week’s schedule we’re playing five games in eight nights,” head coach Lindy Ruff remarked, even as healthy players will start to trickle back into the available roster spots. “We have a great opportunity to pick up ground on a lot of people.”
This stretch is going to be a big test for this healing roster, but Ruff likes what he’s seeing in terms of guys getting to the net, both in practice and in that last game. It remains to be seen if that means more goals, and potentially more wins, during this upcoming divisional slate.