The Buffalo Sabres roller coaster season continued around American Thanksgiving, as the club could not generate any momentum from consecutive victories against Chicago and Carolina, losing in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, and being shut out by the New Jersey Devils on Black Friday, before winning 3-2 over Minnesota in a shootout on Saturday. The Sabres still have some key players on the injured list, but Jason Zucker and Zach Benson returned late last month and on Monday, the club will be getting center Josh Norris back in the lineup.
The 26-year-old suffered an upper-body injury in the October 9th season opener against the New York Rangers, and is returning slightly ahead of the eight-week prognosis that was rumored after the injury. At the morning skate, Norris centered a line with Zach Benson and Tage Thompson.
“”There’s no easing in coming back,” Norris said after the morning skate. “(I) couldn’t really sleep too well last night, I’m just excited to get back in the lineup (and) really just made sure that I was good before I made the decision to come back.”
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Norris joined the club in March after being acquired from Ottawa in a trade for Dylan Cozens, and played only three games before being shut down for the season. He was able to train over the summer and was fully healthy at training camp, which led to an excellent showing during the preseason, but all that optimism was dashed after being injured taking a face-off against the Rangers.
For the Sabres to get back into the playoff race, they will need Norris to stay healthy and provide the offense up the middle they have been missing for most of the season. Head Coach Lindy Ruff indicated that injured defenseman Michael Kesselring has been skating on his own the last few days, but provided no update on the status of center Jiri Kulich and winger Justin Danforth.
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