The Buffalo Sabres are back on the ice Thursday nigght and will be playing a desperate St. Louis Blues team. They are 4-8-2 this season and have gone 1-6-2 over the past nine games, including a 6-1 loss last night against the Washington Capitals.
The Blues are searching for answers and seemingly have every option on the table and decided to go with one of the more surprising options. According to Jeremy Rutherford with The Athletic, the Blues are going to have Jordan Kyrou a healthy scratch.
Rutherford quoted head coach Jim Montgomery in saying, when asked about the decision, “Many players could have been scratched after last night’s game, and ultimately I decided on this group tonight.”
The decision to bench the player currently tied for second in goals and points on your team, is certainly a choice. Kyrou entering this season has had three straight seasons with 30 or more goals and certainly hasn't looked like the problem for the Blues. He also has been pretty productive against the Buffalo Sabres and in 10 career games he has nine points.
Buffalo Sabres get a gift from the Blues and now must find a way to win this game
For the Buffalo Sabres, this is great news as they won't have to try and stop one of the Blues' best goal-scorers. They certainly could use some good fortune as they are dealing with more than their fair share of injuries, with four of their forwards out for this game in Josh Norris, Jiri Kulich, Zach Benson, and Jason Zucker.
The good news is that they might be getting back Tyson Kozak, who Lindy Ruff said was on track to return Thursday against the Blues. They certainly can use the help and while they have a seven-point streak, they have suffered overtime losses in four of their last five games.
There is something to be said about being able to get at least one point in these games with the injuries they have had. However, without Kyrou and how the Blues have played, this is a game the Sabres should be expected to win.
There haven't been many of those games yet this season, but anything less than two points is a major concern. They are only one point ahead of last place in the Eastern Conference, but only one point back of a Wild Card spot. A loss here is one of those games that could haunt this team at the end of the season if they come up a few points short of the playoffs.