BUFFALO -- Noah Ostlund and Sam Carrick are each expected to be unavailable for the Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference Second Round, coach Lindy Ruff said on Sunday.
The Sabres eliminated the Boston Bruins in six games in the first round and will face either the Tampa Bay Lightning or Montreal Candiens, who play Game 7 of that series in Tampa on Sunday (6 p.m. ET; The Spot, HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).
Ostlund sustained a lower-body injury in the first period of Game 5 of Buffalo’s first-round series against the Boston Bruins after he got tangled up with Bruins forward Casey Mittelstadt, who fell awkwardly on Ostlund’s leg. Ruff said the following day that the “news wasn’t good” on the forward, but he didn’t provide a time frame for his absence.
Ostlund did not play in the series-clinching 4-1 win in Game 6 at Boston on Friday. He also missed the first two games because of an upper-body injury that kept him out 12 games (regular season and Stanley Cup Playoffs). He returned for Game 3 and had a goal and an assist in a 3-1 win. Ostlund had 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists) in 60 regular-season games.
Carrick has been out since sustaining an upper-body injury in a fight with New York Islanders forward Anders Lee at the start of the third period on March 31. The forward was acquired from the New York Rangers prior to the NHL Trade Deadline on March 6. He had five goals and one assist in 13 games after the trade.
Buffalo, the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Division, will host either Tampa Bay (No. 2) or Montreal (No. 3) in Game 1 at KeyBank Center on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; TNT, truTV, HBO MAX, SN, CBC, TVAS).
