The Buffalo Sabres may not be missing several players on Opening Night after all.
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff ran down some injury updates after Friday's practice, and it sounds like most of the club's banged-up players are trending in the right direction.
"This isn't gonna be that long," was the message defenseman Mattias Samuelsson, who's been labeled as week-to-week with a lower-body ailment, delivered to Ruff.
Jiri Kulich, who's working back up to full speed after missing the vast majority of last season with a blood clot, and Noah Ostlund both sat out Friday's session for maintenance. Neither player is expected to miss time.
Blueliner Olen Zellweger continues to work through the NHL's concussion protocol, and could be available for the season-opening clash with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 1.
"In all likelihood, I would anticipate him being ready for next week," Ruff said.
Buffalo's bench boss didn't have any further update on goalie Alex Lyon, who departed Thursday's preseason loss to the Detroit Red Wings with an upper-body injury, but the longtime coach's initial comments after the game suggested he was "optimistic it's not too bad."
That leaves Jason Zucker as the biggest uncertainty as the 2026-27 season nears. The veteran winger underwent sports hernia surgery in the offseason and the Sabres stated at the start of training camp that he'll probably miss at least the first few weeks of the campaign.
Buffalo wraps up the preseason Saturday with a home game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It may opt for a less-star-studded lineup given the recent injury scares.
Sabres can't afford a slow start in the loaded Eastern Conference
Positive news on the injury front is music to the ears of the Sabres' front office and coaching staff because the margin for error this season will be incredibly thin.
As the regular season approaches, at least 14 of the Eastern Conference's 16 teams are entering the campaign with legitimate playoff aspirations. The exceptions are the Detroit Red Wings and New York Islanders, and it's not like those clubs are in full-blown tank mode, either.
HockeyStats.com projects just a five-point difference between the Sabres, who are predicted to finish third in the Atlantic Division and sixth in the East, and the 14th-place Columbus Blue Jackets.
Things will change throughout the course of the year, of course. Key injuries and ill-timed losing streaks are probably going to knock a few teams out of contention, but the preseason projections illustrate how much competition there is from top to bottom in the conference.
Buffalo also faces an uphill battle to defend its Atlantic title with the Florida Panthers back at full strength following their own injury woes last year. The Cats, Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens all have their eyes firmly on the top spot in the division. The Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins are all capable of making a run if things fall right, too.
So, the Sabres could have found themselves in an early hole if their batch of exhibition injuries turned into long-term absences. At least for now, it doesn't sound like that's the case.
A full-strength Buffalo roster features some of the league's best depth, which is why there's hope the Blue and Gold can overcome the losses of Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram to remain in contention.
That's going to require the Sabres' large group of young players — Ostlund, Kulich, Zellweger, Zach Benson, Josh Doan, Jack Quinn, Konsta Helenius and Owen Power, among others — to take the next step in their respective developments, though.
It leaves the Sabres in a situation where there's a massive range of potential outcomes as they try to secure their second straight trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Staying mostly healthy throughout the campaign would provide a immense boost in that quest.
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