One of the strengths of the Buffalo Sabres was going to be their defense, not only because of elite players like Rasmus Dahlin, but also because of the depth the team had at the position. That depth is already being tested, and the regular season is still a week away.
Entering the game Wednesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team was without Bo Byram, Owen Power, and Mattias Samuelsson as they are all dealing with injuries. Of these three, Samuelsson appears to be dealing with the injury that will keep him out the longest, as Lindy Ruff described it as 'week-to-week'.
The injuries seem to continue to pile up as Michael Kesselring would leave the game against the Penguins before the third period. After the game, Ruff said that it is an injury he has been dealing with for the entire training camp, and he is considered 'day-to-day'.
Lindy Ruff not too concerned about the Buffalo Sabres defensemen at this point
Now that the Sabres have four of their Top 6 defenseman dealing with injuries, it would seemingly raise concerns for the position with the regular season as close as it is. The good news is that Lindy Ruff didn't seem overly concerned about the position and mentioned that Bo Byram and Owen Power are close to returning.
They also seem to have landed on the replacement for Samuelsson which would be Ryan Johnson, who has a solid training camp and preseason. In the game against the Penguins, it was Johnson with Connor Timmins as the third pair.
The question is which other players might need to step up if Kesselring is not available to begin the season. Fans would probably love to see rookie Radim Mrtka get a chance, and the Sabres could give him essentially a nine-game tryout to begin the season without using a year of his contract. However, that is a tough spot to put an inexperienced player, and the likely option would be Jacob Bryson, who has played over 250 games the past four seasons with the Sabres.
It is not an ideal situation for the Sabres to be dealing with as many injuries as they are but they seemingly have the depth to handle it, at least to start the season, and this could give some players a great opportunity to get regular ice time.