Injury Report

Is it the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs? No, it's about 1.5 months from the end of the regular NHL season. Looking at the Buffalo Sabres' depleted roster though, it's difficult to tell. There are a total of six major injuries (no simple groin pulls) plaguing the team at this crucial time of the season:

• Paul Gaustad (Center) out for the season with a severed leg tendon (ouch! those skates are sharp)
• Jaroslav Spacek (D) out for a month with a broken hand
• Maxim Afinogenov (RW) out for at least 2 months with a broken wrist
  
• Jiri Novotny (C) with an ankle injury; out indefinitely
  
• Tim Connolly (C), gearing up for a return from his concussion last playoffs, now with a stress fracture
• Ales Kotalik (RW) with a MCL injury; out indefinitely

Four of these injuries occurred in their last four games. And all of these are key players whose absence will certainly be felt. The team continues to dip into their pool of Amerks (farm team in Rochester) to bulk up their thinning roster. Soon, the Sabretooth Tiger will don a pair of skates to help out. After a trip to the Eastern Conference finals last playoffs, the Sabres started the current season with an enviable unbeaten streak. Now, they are still leading the Eastern Division with 83 points, though the New Jersey Devils are starting to narrow in. There is no doubt the Sabres will clinch a playoff spot. However, the glory of this season will mean nothing with a weak playoff performance.