Buffalo just lost a major piece. Josh Norris is out for Game 3 at Boston Thursday night with an undisclosed issue, and the timing could not be worse.
Lindy Ruff's group is heading into a hostile building with the series tied 1-1 and now without one of its most productive forwards.
That's the last thing a coach wants to hear during warmups.
Norris was on an absolute tear heading into the playoffs. The 26-year-old American center posted 2 goals and 5 points in his last 5 regular-season games with a plus-7 rating.
He'd become one of Buffalo's cleanest players on both sides of the puck. Losing him forces Ruff to rework the middle six on short notice.
Norris carries a $7.95 million cap hit and had settled into a real top-six role. When he's healthy, he changes how the Sabres attack. When he's not, the drop-off is real.
-
Marco Sturm's Bruins get a break before Game 3 at TD Garden
Marco Sturm won't say it publicly. But his staff just caught a break.
Preparing for Norris and preparing for whoever takes his spot are two very different scouting assignments.
Boston stole Game 2 in Buffalo with a 4-2 win and a physical edge that finally showed up. Now they get home ice, a loud building, and an opponent working with a shallower deck.
Is one absence really enough to tilt a playoff game? Not by itself. But when every line matters and the margins are already paper-thin, a missing 7-million-dollar forward adds up.
Norris played just 44 regular-season games. Injuries have followed him around for years, which is exactly why news like this hits Buffalo particularly hard.
Jarmo Kekalainen signed off on that cap number for a reason.
The Sabres GM bet on the upside, not the history, and it's the kind of bet that looks great in February and gets tested in April.
Ruff has options, but none of them are Norris. Somebody else has to eat those minutes, drive that faceoff circle, and hope the drop-off doesn't show up on the scoreboard.
Game 3 drops at TD Garden with the Bruins feeling it. The Sabres better find their next man up quickly.
Does Josh Norris being out cost the Sabres Game 3 in Boston?
Also read on Puck Reporter :
Lindy Ruff pulls Luukkonen, starts Lyon in Game 3 tonight
