After waiting 15 years for playoff hockey, the Buffalo Sabres and their fans will have to wait an extra day. The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin on Saturday, but the Bruins and Sabres will begin Sunday night at KeyBank Center in Western New York.
After struggling to begin the season, the Sabres were one of the top teams in the NHL and roared to the Atlantic Division title and the No. 2 seed in the East behind the Carolina Hurricanes. Boston secured the first wild-card spot in the East and a matchup with Buffalo.
This is going to be an interesting matchup between Buffalo's talent and speed and the Bruins' system under first-year head coach Marco Sturm, which can frustrate teams. In the regular season, the Black and Gold won three of the four matchups, but two of those were in October when Buffalo was struggling.
At the trade deadline, the Sabres added some grit with Sam Carrick from the New York Rangers, and he would be a perfect player in Lindy Ruff's lineup to deal with the Bruins grit. However, it appears that Buffalo will be without him for the series.
Sabres likely to play without Sam Carrick against Bruins
Ruff said that Carrick will be out with an upper-body injury he suffered in a game on March 31 against the New York Islanders. He suffered a left arm injury in a fight that game. After the trade deadline, Carrick was a huge addition for Buffalo's lineup with five goals, one assist, and a plus/minus of plus-4 in 13 games.
Over the length of a seven-game series, a loss like Carrick would likely have an effect the deeper the series goes. Injuries are going to happen, but Carrick is the type of player the Ruff and Buffalo need in the lineup against the Bruins. Youngster Noah Ostlund is expected to draw into the lineup at some point, according to Ruff.
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