After seeing their 10-game winning streak come to a close a few days ago, the Buffalo Sabres will get a boost to their forward core. In an injury update released by the team earlier this afternoon, the Sabres announced that Jason Zucker will return to the lineup tomorrow against the Vancouver Canucks.
The Sabres revealed that Zucker has been healthy for some time, but the coaching staff didn’t feel comfortable removing anyone from the lineup due to their current performance. In fact, head coach Lindy Ruff indicated that Zucker could have returned on December 31st against the Dallas Stars, and was frustrated he was unable to.
Ruff was quoted as saying, “I think (he’s) a little frustrated he wasn’t put back in earlier, but I think the little extra time will help him, too, and I think he can help us. I talked to him before that Dallas game, and he was anxious to get back in, which he should be. Any player that sits out shouldn’t be happy; if he’s happy, he’s in the wrong business.”
Zucker will return tomorrow after nearly a month away from the game due to lower- and upper-body injuries. Before being placed on the injured reserve on December 8th, Zucker had scored nine goals and 18 points in 21 games with a -10 rating, averaging 15:36 of ice time per game. Nine of those points came on Buffalo’s power play.
The Sabres’ power play is expected to benefit the most from Zucker’s return. Although Buffalo ended December with a 10-game winning streak, their power play struggled, achieving only a 15.2% success rate. They’ve scored 19.1% of the time with the man advantage when Zucker is in the lineup.
Before the Olympic break, outside of their recent hot streak, the Sabres have a massive opportunity in January to further entrench themselves in the playoff conversation in the Eastern Conference. They have a particularly difficult stretch in front of them, lining up nine times against teams currently positioned in a postseason spot in their remaining 14 games through the end of the month.