Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres have stayed relatively healthy this season, but now the injury bug is starting to hit the team.
Jordan Greenway left practice early on Friday, and head coach Lindy Ruff said his availability for Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers is definitely in question.
"He’s got a nagging ailment that he’s been playing through, so today bothered him enough that he had to leave the ice," said Ruff following practice.
Starting goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen missed the last game and the last period in the game before. He did participate in Friday’s practice, and technically could play Saturday, but Ruff feels there’s no point in rushing him.
"I can tell you right now, we’re not going to play him," he said. "We just feel with where the schedule is, why push him in when we have four or five more days before we play again?"
Thompson missed Thursday’s game, and didn’t practice with the team on Friday.
"Tage was on the ice, and he’s just not ready to play yet," Ruff said. "But I think we’d be looking at Wednesday. He skated this morning, but it just wasn’t right yet."
With both Thompson and Greenway hurting, the Sabres may have to call up a forward from Rochester.
At least until Luukkonen can play, the Sabres are carrying three goalies on the roster.
"We’ll take that day-to-day. It’s not ideal. Sharing a goal even in practice isn’t ideal, so we just take that day-to-day," Ruff explained. "When 'UPL' gets healthy, if that’s Wednesday and I know he feels real good now. We’ll cross that bridge when it comes."
Henri Jokiharju has missed five-straight games as a healthy scratch. Jacob Bryson went into the lineup for the first time on Nov. 2 against the Detroit Red Wings, and he’s played so well that Ruff can’t take him out.
While Jokiharju has been benched before, it’s not something he’s been used to.
"I would love to get him a game. That D core, the way it’s been, has [helped us win] four of the last five games. I’ve liked a lot of the way our guys have played, so it’s evaluating which guy I would take out," Ruff said.
"When we need physicality, I think [Dennis] Gilbert adds a lot to our team, and when we’ve been able to play the top-four that number of minutes, with Clifton and Gilbert playing that five-six, it’s given us a real physical pair that are hard to play against. They can be tone setters, so we’re looking at when we can get him in to play in the top-four. We like what the 5-6 are doing."
Of course any player is not going to take being benched well, and Jokiharju is no different.
"Like any player, frustrated, that's for sure," Ruff acknowledged. "His job is to make sure when he gets the opportunity, and it will come, be ready for it. Be ready to play where I’ll look at the game, or the coaches will look at the game and we’ll say, 'We can’t take this guy out of the lineup.'"
Buffalo starts their four-game road trip in Philadelphia on Saturday, but they’ll come home to practice before leaving for Los Angeles on Tuesday.