The Buffalo Sabres had themselves quite a little news dump on Wednesday morning.
On the injury front, there were both good and bad updates passed along.
Sabres/Amerks injury report for Wednesday, November 13. pic.twitter.com/atdZINdcs3
— Sabres PR (@SabresPR) November 13, 2019
Starting down on the farm with the Rochester Americans, the biggest news of the day is the loss of forward C.J. Smith.
Smith has played an integral role in Rochester’s early season success, with six points (three goals, three assists) in 12 games.
With a four-to-six week lower body injury, Rochester will find themselves in somewhat of a pinch to replace Smith.
With the big club, there is good news to be had on the injury front.
While Zach Bogosian is termed as “week-to-week”, he is expected to practice with the team on Wednesday. This is the next step back on Bogosian’s long road to recovery from offseason hip surgery.
Marco Scandella’s status was also updated to day-to-day and it remains to be seen when he will return to the lineup.
Defensively, the log jam is heading towards a breaking point with Buffalo’s blueline finally regaining its health.
Offensively, Marcus Johansson is nursing an upper-body injury and is day-to-day. It is currently unknown if this will affect Johansson’s status for Thursday’s game against Carolina.
As for Vladimir Sobotka, we have been awaiting the news and it is not good.
Following a questionable hit against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Sweden, Sobotka appeared to be in a world of hurt. Unable to leave the ice without assistance, Sobotka has been confirmed to have suffered a lower-body injury and will miss at least four-to-six weeks.
Nikita Kucherov goes low on Vladimir Sobotka pic.twitter.com/oZxJIgt81r
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) November 8, 2019
In Sobotka’s absence, an opportunity presents itself for forward Curtis Lazar.
The Sabres have announced the following roster news. pic.twitter.com/mkIn1H7SmS
— Sabres PR (@SabresPR) November 13, 2019
Lazar rejoins the Sabres on his second recall of the season.
In 11 games with the Rochester Americans this season, Lazar tallied nine points (four goals, five assists).
It is believed that Lazar earned the first crack at the open roster spot due to his strong training camp, where he impressed many within the organization.