The Panthers enter Saturday’s showdown on a three-game losing streak with defeats to the Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Red Wings and New Jersey Devils after beginning the year 3-0.
Similarly to the Sabres, the Panthers have been hindered by injuries to several key pieces. Captain and three-time Selke Trophy winner Aleksander Barkov suffered a torn right ACL and MCL in September and Matthew Tkachuk is reportedly out until December due to surgery on a torn adductor and sports hernia.
The Panthers are without Tomas Nosek and were dealt a further blow as coach Paul Maurice announced on Wednesday that veteran defenseman Dmitry Kulikov underwent surgery after sustaining a labral tear and is out for five months.
Despite the injury hits, key returnees such as Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart and Brad Marchand – who was six points in six games – remain.
Ruff said his group will be challenged against a cohesive Panthers defensive unit and an offense that’s difficult to stop in transition.
“They know how to win, they’re a deep team,” Ruff said. “They’re missing a couple big pieces but they still got [Brad] Marchand, you still got [Sam] Reinhart, you got [Aaron] Ekblad, you got a defense that’s really good. You got a goaltender that’s won two Stanley Cups, so we know we’re in for a heck of a battle.”