The Buffalo Sabres penalty kill allowed four goals over the final two games of the team's recently completed West Coast road trip, but help is on the way.
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff announced Wednesday defenseman Conor Timmins is cleared to return from a broken leg suffered in mid-December.
"He's good to go," Ruff told Rachel Lenzi of the Buffalo News, though he didn't say whether the 27-year-old Canadian defender would play Wednesday night against the Boston Bruins.
The Sabres PK, which led the NHL in efficiency earlier in the 2025-26 season, hasn't been as effective as of late, as illustrated by the struggles over the past two contests.
Timmins should bring some stability. He leads all Buffalo skaters in average penalty killing ice time at an even three minutes per game, slightly ahead of fellow blueliner Mattias Samuelsson (2:49), according to Natural Stat Trick.
The 2017 second-round draft pick, who joined the Sabres in a June trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins, didn't provide much offense before the injury, though. He recorded no goals and just six assists across 33 appearances.
Lindy Ruff faces key defensive decisions as the Buffalo Sabres prepare for the 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs
Barring an injury, the Sabres' top-four defense group is set for the postseason:
- Mattias Samuelsson — Rasmus Dahlin
- Bowen Byram — Owen Power
That quartet has been the driving force behind Buffalo's recent success, which includes a 33-6-3 record over the club's past 42 games, and will play a crucial role if the Blue and Gold are going to make a deep postseason run in the months ahead.
Ruff will likely attempt to get all of them a few games off down the stretch for rest purposes, but the races for the Atlantic Division title and Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed will determine whether that's possible.
Meanwhile, the two spot on the third pair remain up for grabs.
Recent trade acquisition Logan Stanley and Zach Metsa, perhaps the biggest unsung hero in the NHL this season, appear to have the inside track on those spots.
The Sabres also have Timmins, Michael Kesselring and Luke Schenn as options, though.
Timmins represents the best option in terms of the ability to provide additional value on special teams. He provided a calming net-front presence on the PK for the first half of the campaign.
Kesselring brings the most upside to the table. A lingering high-ankle sprain has limited his effectiveness throughout his first year in Buffalo, however, and it's unlikely he'll be all the way back to full strength until the 2026-27 campaign.
Schenn is a pure depth option on the roster for his physical presence. He probably won't see the ice in the playoffs unless an injury crisis strikes.
It feels like Stanley is moving closer to a postseason lineup lock unless two members of the above trio stand out in a massive way down the stretch. That would leave Metsa, Timmins and Kesselring to compete for the last spot.
Ruff is an old-school coach who tends to operate with an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality, so Metsa is the favorite until proven otherwise.
Those final determinations will be made in the weeks ahead. For now, the Sabres are focused on trying to finish as high in the East standings as possible.
Earning home-ice advantage throughout the conference playoffs, which will be a gauntlet given the high number of true contenders, would be a remarkable achievement since Buffalo occupied last place as recently as early December.