The Buffalo Sabres are one win away from reaching the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in 19 years, and Lindy Ruff said three key players could be part of the push Tuesday night against the Boston Bruins.
Ruff said Jason Zucker, Josh Norris and Tyson Kozak are all available for Game 5 at KeyBank Center, though the morning skate pointed to the same lineup Buffalo used in its 6-1 win in Boston in Game 4, with Norris expected to remain out. Zucker is the only one of the three who has played every postseason game so far, and he was injured in Game 4 before leaving and not returning. Norris played in Games 1 and 2 and logged a little over 16 minutes in each before suffering an undisclosed injury in Game 2 and giving way to Kozak. Kozak skated eight minutes in Game 3, then played 11 minutes in Game 4, when he picked up an assist and put two shots on goal despite also being banged up.
Buffalo enters Tuesday night with momentum from a four-goal first period in Game 4, part of a road sweep in Boston that sent the Sabres home with a chance to close out the series. The expected look for Game 5 has Zucker on the second line with Ryan McLeod and Jack Quinn, while the fourth line remains Tyson Kozak, Jordan Greenway and Beck Malenstyn. That leaves Ruff with a familiar question at a decisive moment: whether the Sabres can lean on the same group that won in Boston, or whether one of the injured forwards can answer the call if needed.