Sabres News: Tage Thompson update, post-Olympics lines, goalie outlook

The Buffalo Sabres' quest to finally bring a long-awaited end to the franchise's 14-year playoff drought resumes Wednesday night when they visit the Prudential Center to battle the New Jersey Devils.

Buffalo opens the NHL's stretch run holding the top wild-card position in the Eastern Conference with 70 points (32-19-6 record). Projection systems estimate the Blue and Gold have between a 68% and 88% chance of making the postseason, with most predictions around the 80% mark.

If the Sabres are finally going to bring playoff hockey back to downtown Buffalo, they'll have to overcome a barrage of injuries that began in training camp and hasn't stopped. That remains the case despite the league's three-week hiatus for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Tage Thompson set to play vs. Devils (but there's a catch)

After some concern Thompson would remain away from the team for awhile to celebrate with his Team USA teammates at winning an Olympic gold medal on Sunday, the All-Star forward returned to practice Wednesday morning after attending the State of the Union on Tuesday night.

Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed the 28-year-old Arizona native will be available against the Devils, but added he'll probably be on a minutes restriction, per Rachel Lenzi of the Buffalo News. Ruff didn't provide an exact amount of ice time the club's leading scorer could see.

Regardless, Thompson's availability provides a major boost to the Buffalo offense. He's recorded 59 points (30 goals and 29 assists) in 57 appearances this season, which puts him on pace to surpass 40 goals for the third time in the past four years.

The gold medalist missed the third period of the Americans' semifinal win over Slovakia with an undisclosed injury. He returned for the Gold Medal Game and there was no reference to any lingering effects from the ailment as he rejoined the Sabres.

Sabres shake up lines amid continued injury issues

Along with Thompson's return, Buffalo is expected to get Josh Norris, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Josh Dunne back from injury following the Olympic break. It's a much-needed infusion of talent after the injury-riddled roster lost three of its final four games before the hiatus.

That said, the Sabres are still without Zach Benson, Jiri Kulich, Conor Timmins, Jordan Greenway and Justin Danforth because of injuries. It's led to some new-look lines heading into the road game against New Jersey:

As always, seeing Peyton Krebs elevated to the first line is a concern. The Blue and Gold will hope Benson is able to return in short order to fill that spot, with Krebs dropping down to a role he's better suited to fill on the fourth line.

Besides that, however, the Sabres lineup looks strong on paper with strong offensive depth spread across the top three trios. They'll need better play from the fourth line down the stretch, though.

UPL set to regain Buffalo's starting goalie role

One of the most intriguing questions coming out of the break was whether Ruff would go with Luukkonen or Alex Lyon as the team's starting netminder. UPL had a net to himself at the morning skate, suggesting he'll get the nod against the Devils.

Luukkonen was forced to miss the Olympics with Team Finland because of a lower-body ailment. It was an ill-timed setback for the 26-year-old goaltender, who was playing his best hockey in years with a .922 save percentage across 10 starts before the injury.

The Sabres appear poised to give him an opportunity to seize the top spot on the depth chart for the final 25 games of the campaign. It'll probably be a short leash with Lyon (.912 SV% in 27 games) also playing at a high level when healthy this season.

For now, it seems like Colten Ellis is the odd goalie out unless another injury pops up.