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The leg injury Buffalo Sabres star forward Evander Kane suffered in the third period of Saturday’s game against the New Jersey Devils will have him on the bench for around 4-6 weeks. He sprained his MCL after being checked by Devils defenseman David Schlemko, causing his knee to bend awkwardly as it hit the boards. This is just one of a few injuries this young Sabres team has endured this season. Goalie Robin Lehner is out with an ankle injury, defenseman Zach Bogosian has a lower body injury, and forward Cody McCormick is suffering a blood clot.
“It’s big,” forward Ryan O’Reilly said, speaking of the Kane injury, “He adds a lot of speed and the way he shoots the puck and just the way he plays, he’s a physical guy and tough to play against. It’ll be a loss but as much as it hurts to see a guy go down we’ve got to step up and we all have to help out.”
Kane hasn’t produced much on offense, with only one goal in eight games, but his presence helps the young team.
Moving forward, the Sabres are trying something new, combining the their last two first round picks on their second line. Sam Reinhart (2nd overall 2014) and Jack Eichel (2nd overall 2015) will be paired together on the Sabres second line along with Johann Larson.
“Sam is really the guy that has benefitted from it the most and complemented Jack the best in terms of his smartness, his hockey sense, as far as going into areas and getting him the puck,” coach Dan Bylsma said. “Jack’s a skater with the puck and needs to get it in certain spots to be effective in that regard. Sam has been the best in terms of getting him the puck in those areas.”
With the injury, the Sabres recalled center Tim Schaller from the Rochester Americans (AHL).