Just when it looked like things were trending in the right direction, the injury bug struck again. The Sabres lost their leading scorer over the weekend.
Ryan O’Reilly injured his foot in the game against Columbus and was walking in a boot afterwards. Head coach Dan Bylsma said that O’Reilly would miss the next 3-4 weeks. If all goes well, O’Reilly could return with somewhere around 10 games remaining.
“He’s your No.1 guy and that’s something you can’t replace,” Bylsma said. You can’t insert a Justin Bailey and replace what Ryan O’Reilly gives you. Where we’re at right now in the season, we’ve been playing well, points in eight of 10 before tonight’s game and winning some hockey games. He’s a huge part of that and we’re going to miss that.”
Bylsma wasn’t the only one who knew how big the loss would be.
“Obviously, it’s a huge loss for us,” Robin Lehner said. “He’s a world-class player and a leader in this room. It’s an opportunity for other guys to step up and take over.”
The Sabres have called up Cal O’Reilly from Rochester, Ryan’s older brother. Without Tyler Ennis and Ryan O’Reilly, the team will have their work cut out for them.