Entering the second-round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Buffalo Sabres were expecting to be without Noah Ostlund and Sam Carrick. However, a recent update by head coach Lindy Ruff has opened the door for one of them to potentially return.
Over the weekend, Ruff met with reporters and said that neither Ostlund nor Carrick was expected to play in the second round after Carrick's injury at the end of March and Ostlund's injury in Game 5 in the series against the Boston Bruins. On Monday, Ruff was asked about the potential of Justin Danforth returning and didn't seem overly optimistic, but did provide an unprompted update on Carrick.
"We do have Carrick going to see our doctors today and thinks he's further along than maybe I portrayed yesterday," Ruff said. "So with good news, he could join our team back for practice tomorrow, which is great news. That would put him a little bit ahead of schedule."
Buffalo Sabres could desperately use Sam Carrick in the faceoff circle
Sam Carrick joined the Buffalo Sabres at the trade deadline and played in 13 regular-season games before suffering an upper-body injury against the New York Islanders. During that stretch, he was excellent in the offensive zone with five goals and one assist in 13 games after only 10 points in 60 games with the Rangers before the trade.
However, where Carrick can really help the Buffalo Sabres is in the faceoff circle, as he has a career win percentage of 52.2%, but was at 57.3% with the Sabres.
The Sabres are going to need a player like Carrick going against a Montreal Canadiens team that is one of the better faceoff teams left in the playoffs. Entering the second round, the Canadiens are currently first of the remaining playoff teams at 55.6%. Meanwhile, the Sabres are the second-worst at 43.8%.
The next round doesn't start until Wednesday, so with a few extra days, it certainly helps the possibility of Carrick returning for this series if everything goes well. If the Buffalo Sabres do get the veteran center back, it only helps their chances of moving past the Montreal Canadiens and reaching the Eastern Conference Finals.
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