Major twist for Lindy Ruff as Sabres get unexpected injury update
Sam Carrick and Lindy Ruff just gave Buffalo a timely boost before the Sabres open Round 2 against Montreal.
That matters because Carrick was first expected to miss this series. Now Ruff says the veteran center has progressed well enough that he could practice Tuesday.
That is a real swing for Buffalo. A player who looked set to stay out through the round is suddenly back in the picture before the series even gets moving.
Carrick has not played since March 31, when he hurt his left arm in a fight with Anders Lee. That kind of injury usually drags a little longer when a player’s whole game is built around contact and faceoffs.
But this update changes the tone. Buffalo is not talking about a distant possibility anymore. The Sabres are talking about a player who may be back on the ice with the group right away.
And Carrick is not just filler down the lineup. In 13 games with Buffalo, the deadline pickup scored 5 goals and won 57.3 percent of his faceoffs.
That is why this matters against Montreal. The Canadiens just came through an emotional 2-1 Game 7 win over Tampa Bay, and they are coming in hot, loud, and fully alive.
Major twist in Sabres injury situation as Sam Carrick’s timeline changes
Carrick gives Ruff a different kind of forward than the Sabres already have near the top of the lineup. He brings edge, short-area work, and the kind of low-maintenance shifts that help settle a playoff game.
That could matter a lot in a series like this. Montreal plays with pace, and the Canadiens are going to try to drag Buffalo into a fast, emotional matchup right from Game 1.
If Carrick gets back soon, Buffalo gets another center who can take draws, handle traffic, and make life a little heavier on the Canadiens’ side of the puck. Those details add up fast in May.
The Sabres still are not getting all their bodies back. Noah Ostlund remains expected to miss at least through Round 2, so this is not a full clean bill of health by any stretch.
Still, Carrick moving ahead of schedule is a strong sign for a team that just knocked out Boston and now has to reset quickly for a very different opponent.
Buffalo will not need Carrick to carry the offense. It will need him to give the bottom six honest minutes, win pucks, and help keep the series from turning into a track meet.
And from the Sabres’ point of view, that is why this update lands. Sam Carrick may not be a headline star, but his return path just got a lot more interesting at exactly the time Buffalo needed one more useful option.
|
LIVE
MAY 5, 2026
| ||||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Martin Necas | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Nathan MacKinnon | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Kirill Kaprizov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Gabriel Landeskog | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nicolas Roy | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Ross Colton | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ryan Hartman | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brett Kulak | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brock Nelson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mats Zuccarello | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nick Blankenburg | - | - | - | |
| Matthew Boldy | - | - | - | |
| Brent Burns | - | - | - | |
| Jack Drury | - | - | - | |
| Brock Faber | - | - | - | |
| Marcus Foligno | - | - | - | |
| Nick Foligno | - | - | - | |
| Filip Gustavsson | - | - | - | |
| Quinn Hughes | - | - | - | |
| Daemon Hunt | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||