The Buffalo Sabres will be without one of their top defencemen for almost a month, as it was announced today that Zach Bogosian will be out for a few weeks with a sprained knee. The injury was first sustained on Tuesday night against Minnesota, when Bogosian needed to leave the game in the first period.
After an injury plagued 2015-16 that saw Bogosian only suit up in 64 games, he was expected to log big minutes for a young Buffalo club as they tried to climb out of the bottom of the league. Instead, the team will have to look elsewhere to fill his skates, perhaps leaning a bit more on veteran Cody Franson on the right side.
Buffalo has already had to endure injuries to star forwards Jack Eichel and Evander Kane, and losing Bogosian doesn’t help matters. With the team on a surprising three game winning streak, they’ll bring in the upstart Maple Leafs tonight for a matchup of rebuilding clubs. Bogosian likely would have been given the assignment of containing one of Toronto’s young guns, Auston Matthews or Mitch Marner. Casey Nelson will likely figure into the lineup playing on the right side, though it’s unclear who he’ll be paired with.