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<\/p>\nBUFFALO, N.Y. \u2014 The Buffalo Sabres have 25 games left in their season, starting Wednesday with a road game against the New Jersey Devils. That\u2019s 25 games to finish what they started and put an end to the franchise\u2019s league-record 14-year playoff drought.<\/p>\n
The Sabres are in the first Eastern Conference wild-card spot with 70 points. According to The Athletic\u2019s NHL playoff odds, the Sabres have a 79 percent chance of making the playoffs. They are playing at a 100-point pace. While the Eastern playoff race has thinned out a bit, there are still four teams outside of the playoffs within seven points of the Sabres and two others within nine points.<\/p>\n
Considering the Sabres were in last place in the Eastern Conference in early December, this two-month turnaround has been one of the stories of the league this season. Here are some of the key questions facing the Sabres down the stretch that will determine how that story will end.<\/p>\n
1. What will they get out of Norris?<\/p>\n
Josh Norris is frustrated. It\u2019s obvious every time he talks, particularly when it comes to the injury issues he\u2019s been unable to escape. Asked about his break, Norris said he didn\u2019t feel like he really needed it. He took a couple of days off and then was back on the ice.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t really need any time to refresh,\u201d said Norris, who hasn\u2019t played since Jan. 14. \u201cI\u2019ve been out for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a day of wearing a no-contact jersey, Norris was back in a regular jersey on Thursday and is on track to return to the lineup when the Sabres play the Devils on Wednesday. Norris, who has never played in the playoffs, said these 25 games will be the biggest he\u2019s ever played in his NHL career. The big question is whether he will be able to play all 25.<\/p>\n
Buffalo\u2019s lineup is much stronger with him in it. The Sabres have earned 51 percent of expected goals when he\u2019s on the ice at five-on-five. He\u2019s an asset on the power play. He has 17 points in 19 games, and the Sabres have a 13-6 record when he\u2019s in the lineup, but he\u2019s missed big chunks of time with two separate injuries.<\/p>\n
Norris is the biggest X-factor for the Sabres down the stretch.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n The Sabres could use Zach Benson back as soon as possible. (Timothy T. Ludwig \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
2. What\u2019s up with Benson and others on the injury report?<\/p>\n
This NHL season has been grueling. The condensed schedule has contributed to an increase in injuries across the league, and the Sabres have been hit as hard as any team. Games lost are inevitable, but the Sabres have a few key players to watch beyond Norris.<\/p>\n
Zach Benson is dealing with a shoulder injury and still hasn\u2019t returned to practice; Ruff noted that he\u2019s also dealing with a separate issue that the team is trying to get more information on. Ruff said he likely won\u2019t play Wednesday. He could be available by the weekend, but it\u2019s unclear. The Sabres have outscored teams 29-17 during Benson\u2019s five-on-five minutes this season. They need him.<\/p>\n
Justin Danforth (broken knee cap) and Conor Timmins (broken leg) could be nice veteran additions to the lineup, but neither has returned to practice yet, either. Ji\u0159\u00ed Kulich came into camp as a top-six center for this team, but he hasn\u2019t played since the team discovered a blood clot issue early in the season. He\u2019ll be evaluated again in early March. Meanwhile, Jordan Greenway (core muscle) and Michael Kesselring (ankle\/knee) have played through injuries this season. Kesselring is practicing in full, but Greenway is still absent and will be trying another treatment option. That\u2019s a long list of injuries.<\/p>\n
3. Can the defense and goaltending hold up?<\/p>\n
A major reason Buffalo managed to turn its season around is the improved defensive play and the consistent goaltending the team is getting. Since Dec. 9, the Sabres have the best save percentage in the NHL. Their goals-against average is fourth-best in the NHL during that stretch.<\/p>\n
The good news is the Sabres\u2019 goalies are all healthy coming out of the break. The top-four defensemen, who have been doing a lot of the heavy lifting, are all in a good spot, too. Buffalo\u2019s team approach to defense has been a lot more consistent this season. That will need to continue. But goaltending is a major part of the equation. Alex Lyon has been outstanding, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who is returning from injury, has been solid lately as well. Goaltending can be fickle, but the Sabres won\u2019t get to the playoffs without more quality starts from those two and Colten Ellis when he\u2019s called upon.<\/p>\n
4. How will Dahlin and Thompson come back from the Olympics?<\/p>\n
Tage Thompson is coming back to Buffalo as a gold medalist. Being part of the United States team that beat Canada will be an invaluable experience for Thompson, who still hasn\u2019t played in an NHL playoff game. Thompson wasn\u2019t just a passenger, either. He played a big role and scored some key goals for that team.<\/p>\n
Rasmus Dahlin didn\u2019t go as far in the tournament, but he was one of Sweden\u2019s best players at the Olympics. Thompson and Dahlin are about to play the biggest NHL games of their careers down the stretch and potentially in the postseason, and they already got a taste of what that will be like.<\/p>\n
The question is what they will look like when they get back to Buffalo. Thompson left the semifinal game early with a lower-body injury but played in the gold medal game. Ruff said the Sabres got an encouraging medical report on him. Dahlin took a questionable hit from Brady Tkachuk late in Sweden\u2019s quarterfinal loss to the United States. Dahlin is expected to practice Monday, and Ruff said both players should be available on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Even without injuries, the Olympics is a physically and mentally demanding tournament. Some players returned from the 4 Nations Face-Off last season and dominated the NHL the rest of the season. Others were feeling the wear and tear. The Sabres obviously need Thompson and Dahlin at their best to accomplish their goals.<\/p>\n
5. What moves are coming?<\/p>\n
For the first time in a long time, the Sabres are in a position to be a true buyer at the NHL trade deadline. Jarmo Kek\u00e4l\u00e4inen, who was Finland\u2019s assistant general manager at the Olympics, only has until March 6 to make additions to Buffalo\u2019s roster. The Sabres need more depth on defense<\/a> and could use another forward capable of playing meaningful minutes on the top three lines<\/a>.<\/p>\n Buffalo\u2019s prospect pool is well-stocked. Kek\u00e4l\u00e4inen has an opportunity to be aggressive and help push this Sabres lineup over the edge and into the playoffs. He said previously he doesn\u2019t want to undermine the long-term goal of winning a Stanley Cup by making moves with just the playoffs in mind, but a playoff berth would do a lot to repair the reputation of the franchise, invigorate the fan base and provide valuable experience to the Sabres\u2019 young roster.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BUFFALO, N.Y. \u2014 The Buffalo Sabres have 25 games left in their season, starting Wednesday with a road…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":499529,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,6581,575,85],"class_list":["post-499528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-buffalo-sabres","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=499528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499528\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/499529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=499528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=499528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=499528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}