Just when the Sabres get Jack Eichel back, they lose two more players.
Taylor Fedun was dinged up in the third period of Saturday’s matinee with the Bruins and Josh Gorges has a non-displaced fracture in his foot that happened when he blocked a shot in Thursday’s come-from-behind win against the New York Rangers. Gorges has been averaging 19:27 of ice time per game.
Hope is on the horizon though. Dmitry Kulikov, who has missed 11 games with a lower-back injury suffered in a preseason game, skated in Sunday morning’s team practice in HarborCenter.
“It was a good day,” Kulikov said. “I’ve had a tough week, started skating almost eight days ago and making good progress. This is the next step, getting in practice and it feels good.”
He is officially listed as day-to-day and could return to action at some point this week. Bylsma said. “He’s had two good practices off the ice, physicality-wise, and today with the team, which is a great sign.”
Brendan Guhle may get a chance to stay in the Sabres’ lineup, but Tim Murray may have to call up another Rochester defenseman to replace Fedun for Monday night’s game against the Washington Capitals. With rookie Casey Nelson sidelined with a neck injury, 27-year-old Eric Burgdoerfer, who has yet to make his NHL debut, could get the call.
The Sabres have already used 10 defensemen this season. This would be their fourth recall.