One of the big questions coming out of the season opener for the Buffalo Sabres was the injury suffered by Josh Norris. He left the game in the third period and was unable to return. After the game, head coach Lindy Ruff didn't have much of an update but pointed out the fact that Norris being unable to return was not a good sign.
On Saturday, the Sabres are looking for their first win of the regular season in a road game against the Boston Bruins. Unfortunately, Norris won't be playing in this game, and it doesn't look like he will be back anytime soon.
After the morning skate, Ruff said that Norris is still being evaluated but he will 'miss a significant amount of time.' He did say that the injury is nothing related to what he has had in the past but is an upper-body injury.
Buffalo Sabres now have a big hole in their lineup without Josh Norris
Josh Norris' career has been riddled by injuries from his time with the Ottawa Senators and now with the Buffalo Sabres. They traded for him last season, and the game against the Rangers was only his fourth game and it doesn't look like he will be playing his fifth for a while.
For the Sabres, this creates a pretty big hole because Norris earned the starting center spot on the top line. He was expected to be a big part of the offense, along with the power play that Lindy Ruff and the coaching staff must figure out how to replace.
It is going to start in the game against the Bruins, and the first option appears to be Jiri Kulich, who was practicing on Tage Thompson's line on Friday. There certainly is going to be a ripple effect through the other lines and players like Peyton Krebs are going to be more involved.
This might not be the final solution to replacing Josh Norris, but it might be their best option with other players like Zach Benson and Jordan Greenway. Even though it is only the second game of the season, pressure is already mounting for a Sabres team that desperately needs to win.