The Buffalo Sabres are set to head into Toronto still missing some key pieces, and the biggest name among them is Rasmus Dahlin.
According to Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic, Dahlin is not expected to rejoin the team for the matchup with the Maple Leafs. Buffalo is also dealing with another hit up front: Tyson Kozak is out with an upper-body injury he picked up in the Sabres’ recent game against the Florida Panthers, and he has already gone back to Buffalo. Goaltender Alex Lyon, meanwhile, has hit a snag in his recovery from an upper-body injury and will not be back on the ice for a few more days.
Of that group, Dahlin is the one Buffalo would most like to have back. The former first overall pick has posted two goals and four points in six games this season, and he has been logging 23:38 per night. The Sabres took a 3-2 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens last night in their first game this season with Dahlin leading the way.
There was at least some good news elsewhere in the East for the Philadelphia Flyers. Rasmus Ristolainen, who has missed the last five games with a hand injury, returned to practice this morning, according to NBC’s Jordan Hall. Even so, Hall later reported that Ristolainen and Cameron York, who is dealing with an upper-body injury, will both miss the Flyers’ game against the Detroit Red Wings tomorrow.
In Ottawa, Ridly Greig left the Senators’ game last night with what TSN’s Bruce Garrioch described as a “strain.” The Senators have not released a definitive update on Greig’s condition. Greig, who began the season suspended, has one assist in five games and is averaging 16:33 of ice time per contest.
In Other News...
Senators Rough Night At Home Just Raised A Bigger Concern
A three-game winning streak disappeared in a hurry at home Tuesday night, and the Senators never found much of a foothold in a 7-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues. Ottawas offense was limited to goals from Claude Giroux and Fabian Zetterlund, part of a night in which the club generated only 17 shots and spent too much time chasing the game.
The bigger concern, though, was at the other end, where Samuel Ersson made his first home start for Ottawa and was quickly overwhelmed. The backup goaltender gave up seven goals on 26 shots, leaving the Senators with an unsettling result that went well beyond a single bad outing and into the kind of performance that can start asking harder questions about the overall direction of the team. [Read more 🡒]
Ottawa Letting Leevi Merilainen Go Looks Tougher By The Week
Leevi Merilainen keeps giving Vancouver a reason to lean on him, and the latest example came in a game against the New York Islanders. With Thatcher Demko sidelined, the young goaltender stepped into a bigger role and helped keep the Canucks competitive even after they gave up two quick goals late in the first period.
Merilainen finished with 35 saves as Vancouver clawed back to tie it in the second period before the Islanders pulled away in the third. For Ottawa, which let Merilainen get away, the early returns keep making that decision look harder to justify each time he gets a meaningful chance to play. [Read more 🡒]
Brady Tkachuk Just Reignited A Trade Debate Senators Fans Can't Ignore
Brady Tkachuk shook off a 10-game point drought in a way that is hard to miss, scoring three straight goals in the second period against the Columbus Blue Jackets and giving his season a jolt at a time when the Ottawa Senators have had to keep moving without him. The Senators have managed to start 5-2 in his absence, leaning on a committee approach after sending him to the Florida Panthers, but a performance like this is the kind that brings old questions back into focus fast.
The timing only sharpened the conversation, because Matthew Tkachuk was the setup man on each of the three goals, a family connection the NHL said made them the first brothers to pull off that kind of feat. For Ottawa fans, it is a reminder of what Brady can still do when he finds a groove, and of how quickly the debate around his place in the bigger picture can flare up again after one big night. [Read more 🡒]