Buffalo Sabres: Will Tage Thompson and Zemgus Girgensons play this weekend?
Buffalo Sabres forwards Tage Thompson and Zemgus Girgensons look like they will be ready to roll this weekend in the upcoming back-to-back.
The Buffalo Sabres were missing forward Tage Thompson in their loss to the Boston Bruins, but he understandably was attending to a personal matter. Meanwhile, Zemgus Girgensons has missed over a month with a lower-body injury.
However, per Jourdon LaBarber of Sabres.com in a practice recap today, Tage and Girgensons were practicing, signaling they will be ready to go come Saturday’s game vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Sabres will be seeking revenge after the Blue Jackets embarrassed them just over a week ago when they scored nine goals on the inept Blue and Gold.
Getting Tage and Girgensons back for the weekend’s back-to-back would be ideal, as the Sabres are still struggling to find traction. And having a fully healthy lineup could finally catapult them into winning a pair of back-to-back games. Keyword: Could.
Buffalo Sabres could have Tage and Girgensons back on Saturday
Like Girgensons, Tage has struggled with injuries at times this season, missing a portion of the year thanks to a wrist injury. Productivity-wise, he has taken the infamous step back, with just nine goals and 10 assists in 26 contests, good for just 19 points. However, it is worth noting that Tage has four points and two goals in his previous five contests, and he’s also been rather physical in that span with eight hits.
Girgensons has just two points in 20 games this season, but he has been effective in other ways. He has 31 hits on the year, so his physical prowess has yet to evaporate as he approaches age 30. The Buffalo Sabres are still a good team defensively with Girgensons on the ice, sporting a 93.1 on-ice save percentage at even strength, and 94.2 at 5-on-5.
It will be interesting to see what Tage and Girgensons will do for the team upon their assumed returns this weekend. All signs point to them playing if today’s practice served as an indication barring something unforeseen.
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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)
Source: Thompson returns to practice as Sabres make changes to power-play units