BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Sabres might look back at this early stretch of games as what kept them in the playoff race.

Last season, a 13-game winless streak derailed Buffalo’s season before the new year. In 2022-23, an eight-game losing streak ended up costing the team a shot at the playoffs. And a 0-3 start to this season looked like it could turn into a similar skid. Since then, the Sabres have points in nine out of the last 10 games. They’ve struggled in overtime, so they have a 5-4-4 record, but the more significant aspect of this stretch of games is how depleted the lineup is.

As of Oct. 31, the Sabres were leading the NHL in man games lost. Since that time, Zach Benson and Jason Zucker have gone on injured reserve, and Jiri Kulich missed a game. That left the Sabres with a lineup that included four players who started the season in the AHL. Still, they’ve remained competitive in a crowded Eastern Conference playoff picture.

“If we find a way to keep getting points, find a way to stick around, that’s a good thing,” Sabres goalie Alex Lyon said. “I also think that the next step is available for us where maybe we start to take over.”

Here’s what else we’re seeing from the Sabres.

Josh Norris is skating again

For the first time since opening night, the Sabres’ locker room had a stall for Josh Norris. The team’s No. 1 center has started skating again for the first time since his upper-body injury. Lindy Ruff said Norris is feeling better and progressing. When the injury happened on Oct. 9, the timetable was expected to be in the two-month range. So he’s about halfway through that timeline. Ruff didn’t have any update on an anticipated timeline.

“He’s progressing,” Ruff said. “He’s not in that ‘feeling great’ category yet, but he’s feeling better. And really just want to keep progressing him with no setbacks.”

Getting Norris back healthy could be a major boost to this lineup. The question of whether he can stay healthy will linger, but the Sabres could use another proven scorer. And his speed is needed, too.

Mason Geertsen’s role

The Mason Geertsen situation is back in the spotlight after he played 3:49 in Buffalo’s overtime loss to Utah on Tuesday. He’s played five games this season, and in those games his ice time has been 4:26, 4:48, 2:06, 5:26 and 3:49. When Geertsen is in the lineup, Ruff clearly only trusts him for limited minutes. Geertsen hasn’t fought yet this year, but he has made an effort to stick up for teammates and make his presence felt.

The issue is that Geertsen’s utility is limited to that specific skill set. In Geertsen’s five-on-five minutes, the Sabres have been out-chanced 11-2. I understand the instinct to have Geertsen around after the way the Sabres were pushed around at times last season. But I also think the team as a whole has shown an improved commitment to standing up for themselves and each other. Josh Dunne has been useful in that area. So has Jordan Greenway. Michael Kesselring is also a willing and capable fighter. Geertsen was even giving fellow fourth-liner Beck Malenstyn some fighting pointers after practice the other day. And all of those players are capable of impacting the game in other ways.

Making this situation more pressing is the fact that the Sabres have a long list of injuries at forward. Norris is still out for at least another month. Justin Danforth is week to week. Benson is in a walking boot. Zucker and Kulich are sick. Tyson Kozak is getting closer to a return, but that’s still a lot of important forwards missing. The Sabres are getting short on roster spots, especially because the team is still carrying three goalies. That makes Geertson a luxury they can’t really afford.

If Kozak can return on Thursday, how do the Sabres make room for him? Noah Ostlund, Isak Rosen and Dunne can go back to Rochester without needing waivers, but those three are all helping the team at the moment. The Sabres could put Colten Ellis on waivers, but given the state of goaltending in the NHL, there’s a chance they would lose him. Geertsen would likely get through waivers without much issue, and the Sabres could bring him back up if there’s a necessary matchup for him. He’s been an outstanding teammate, but the Sabres are too banged up to have a forward on the team that they can’t trust to play more than a few minutes a night.

Here’s what Ruff had to say about it on Wednesday: “There’s two ways you can look at it. We had pretty good success last year when we went 11 and seven sometimes. The guys welcome that extra ice time. At the same time, we’re chasing a goal last night, so I dropped down to just three lines that were playing. Typically for him, I would say he would get six, eight minutes, but we were down one (to) nothing. There was nothing to dislike about his play. He was physical. That line got pucks deep. He did some good stuff.”

That leads me to believe Geertsen likely isn’t going anywhere, but Kozak should take his spot in the lineup against the Blues.

What about Konsta Helenius?

Given the Sabres’ injury situation, giving Konsta Helenius a taste of the NHL makes sense to me. The way he forechecks and competes is a big reason why. He’s only 19, but he’s also physically capable of handling the NHL game right now. I’m not suggesting he should be called up permanently, but this seems like a decent opportunity to give him a feel for what it takes to play at this level. Considering how limited Geertsen’s ice time has been, having someone like Helenius who could play even eight or nine minutes would be an upgrade in terms of what he could bring offensively. But with Kozak coming back, the Sabres may not feel an urgent need to call up Helenius. With Kozak, Dunne, Rosen and Ostlund all already in the NHL, it’s tough to see a more viable option for the next call-up than Helenius. But one other name to keep an eye on is Jake Leschyshyn, who scored twice for the Amerks on Wednesday and has 77 games of NHL experience. If the Sabres are looking for a more experienced player to be the next call-up, the 26-year-old might get a look at some point.

Tage Thompson needs to get going

Tage Thompson’s on-ice expected goal share at five-on-five is 44 percent. The high-danger chances are 46-29 in favor of the opposition when Thompson is on the ice at five-on-five. Thompson has been without his regular linemates lately. He lost Norris in the first game of the season, and now Kulich and Benson are both out of the lineup. Against the Mammoth, Thompson skated with Jordan Greenway and Jack Quinn to start the game before Ruff started shuffling the lines. At practice on Wednesday, Thompson was skating on a line with Alex Tuch and Ryan McLeod.

“I think if you ask Tage, he would say that he’s got to make the people around him better,” Ruff said. “However that is, they have to be better when they’re on the ice, whether it’s defensively or offensively.”

Thompson just missed on a few scoring chances against Utah, so there is reason to believe some offense could be coming. He has 10 points in 13 games and only five goals, which is well off his usual pace. He’s shooting only 9.1 percent, well below his typical mark. Ruff said he wants to see Thompson generating more scoring opportunities. With all of the injuries the Sabres are dealing with, they need Thompson to return to form.