The injury was not a hit to them clinching a playoff berth. However, when Sam Carrick suffered an arm injury a few days ago, it impacted the Sabres in a different kind of way.
The forward had helped anchor the fourth line for Buffalo at a time when Lindy Ruff was figuring out the right mixture and lineups for the postseason. Now, many decisions will need to be made.
Carrick is week-to-week, but this leads to a chance for another center to be featured more heavily in the lineup. The difference in the playoffs for many hockey teams is depth, and the Sabres may have options.
Josh Dunne could be the key on the fourth line for the Buffalo Sabres with Sam Carrick out of the lineup
He has been with the Sabres since 2024, so he's been on a team that has seen both the highs and lows. Now he can be a part of the high of having more ice time and providing a possible spark in the playoffs.
Currently he's averaged almost a minute less (9:27) than Carrick (10:45) on the ice. But now with the injury, it gives Dunne an opportunity to find more playing time.
One way he could move up higher on the fourth line is by keeping his faceoffs over 50%. He currently is averaging 53.4% of faceoff wins. Carrick is slightly higher at over 57%, but having a replacement like Dunne, who still wins over half, could be a huge difference in the playoffs for Lindy Ruff.
Another way Dunne can establish himself in the lineup is to increase his physicality. Despite playing in only 32 games on the year, he has averaged at least a hit in each game. It shows that he knows when to dial it up and add to a necessary part of the game on the ice.
If Carrick is out of the lineup for the playoffs and other enforcers, such as Jordan Greenway, continue to experience injury issues, Dunne could establish himself as one of the players who can give the Sabres a boost, perhaps not in a shot but in a hit on the team they will be facing.
Like Carrick, Dunne has already missed time due to injury. Unlike Carrick, he seems to have overcome the injury and now needs to take advantage of what is in front of him. Sometimes the fourth line is the difference between who advances to the second round and who goes home sooner than they may wish.