After weeks of nursing his injured hip for the past dozen games, Josh Gorges returned to the Buffalo Sabres last night in triumphant fashion reports Bill Hoppe of Buffalo Hockey Beat. The team beat the Ottawa Senators in all facets and took them down 4-0 in an impressive win. The 32-year old defenseman played just over 16 minutes, but chipped in an assist and was a +2 rating. While his possession numbers are still terrible this season, Gorges adds some grit to a blueline that has sorely missed it this year. With injuries to almost every member at times, the team has had inconsistency and unfamiliarity problems all season.
- That perhaps is going to go away, now that Gorges and Jake McCabe have returned from their respective injuries. McCabe was sidelined for five games following a shoulder injury and Zach Bogosian, who was injured on Thursday evening against the New York Rangers, is only considered day-to-day. For a team that was expected to take a step forward this season, injuries have come hard and often this year.
- But it’s the fact that those injuries are starting to heal that has Buffalo fans inspired for the next 30 games. The club has struggled this season to be sure, but with a strong start to 2017 (the team is 8-5-2 in the new year) and a very weak Atlantic Division, there is a chance they could go on a late drive for the playoffs. The team sits at 52 points after their win last night, and though that is tied for last place in the Eastern Conference, they’re only 6 points behind Boston for third place in the division and have played four fewer games. The incredible parity in the Eastern Conference has everyone still believing they’re “in it” at this point in the season, and with Buffalo’s injury excuse, perhaps they really are. When healthy (looking at you Jack Eichel), the team can boast enough goal scoring to keep up with any team, and the duo of Robin Lehner and Anders Nilsson has actually provided excellent goaltending (a team .923 save percentage has them third in the league). A healthy top four that includes Rasmus Ristolainen, Bogosian, McCabe and Dmitry Kulikov isn’t perfect, but may be enough to keep them relevant down the stretch.