Buffalo Sabres defenseman Logan Stanley is questionable for Game 6 against the Boston Bruins on Friday night because of an illness.
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said Stanley's condition has improved over the past 24 hours, but his status remains unsettled as the team gets its second chance to eliminate the Bruins from the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"That will be evaluated," Ruff told reporters after Thursday's practice. "Obviously, didn't skate today. He was worse yesterday, better today. But then you're missing a couple days and you haven't eaten. We're going to have to judge where the energy level is, too."
Michael Kesselring skated alongside Conor Timmins on Buffalo's third pair at practice, which would seemingly indicate he'll get the first opportunity to replace Stanley, if necessary.
Zach Metsa and Luke Schenn are Ruff's other main reserve options on the blue line. A trio of defensive prospects — 2025 first-round pick Radim Mrtka, Ryan Johnson and Vsevolod Komarov — were also just added to the roster as part of the "Black Aces" group for additional depth.
So, the question is which defenders are the best alternatives if Stanley misses time?
1. Michael Kesselring
It's been a frustrating season for Kesselring, who was originally viewed as the chief asset arriving to the Sabres in the blockbuster JJ Peterka trade last season. Of course, that narrative changed as Josh Doan produced a breakout campaign to earn a seven-year, $48.7 million contract extension.
Kesselring has dealt with a series of injuries dating back to training camp, including a high-ankle sprain that appeared to sap his skating effectiveness. It prevented him from making much of an offensive impact, tallying no goals and two assists across 34 appearances.
The 26-year-old South Carolina native's underlying numbers paint a more promising story, though. He ranked third among Buffalo blueliners in 5-on-5 expected goal share (50.8%) during the regular season, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Kesselring has played just two games since March 10. Although that's been frustrating for the defenseman, who previously stated he was finally feeling closer to full strength, the time off should ensure he's fresh if given one more chance to prove himself this season.
2. Zach Metsa
Metsa represented one of the NHL's wildest stories this season. His baseline numbers were nothing special (six points in 43 games) and the analytics were modest, but the Sabres outscored opponents 24-9 when he was on the ice at even strength, an eye-popping 72.7% goal share.
The "PDO god" successfully played a simple, direct game. He typically made a strong first pass to start breakouts and you can count his number of glaring defensive errors on one hand. Sometimes that simplicity is exactly what you're looking for in the playoffs.
That said, Ruff never appeared comfortable deploying him in special-teams situations, as Metsa played just 13 minutes on the penalty kill and one minute on the power play in those 43 appearances. It's a factor that'll likely work against him when it comes to seeing the ice in the playoffs.
3. Luke Schenn
Schenn, who arrived to the Sabres in the same trade with the Winnipeg Jets that landed Stanley in Buffalo, failed to impress in limited chances after the deal. He posted a 35.2% expected goals share in 43 minutes at 5-on-5 and the team was outscored 3-1 in that ice time, per NST.
The 36-year-old veteran does own 58 games of NHL postseason experience from prior stops with the Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Nashville Predators and Winnipeg. He won back-to-back Stanley Cup titles with the Bolts in 2020 and 2021.
That alone makes Schenn a better fill-in option than an untested prospect like Mrtka, Johnson or Komarov, but it would likely require a backbreaking number of injuries, similar to what the Sabres dealt with in the 2006 playoffs, before the hard-hitting defenseman gets a lineup spot.
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