The Buffalo Sabres didn’t have an ideal start to their 2024-25 campaign last night, suffering a 4-0 defeat at the hands of the New York Rangers. But perhaps even more worrying than the final scoreline was an injury suffered late in the game by first-line center Josh Norris. Today, the Sabres issued an update on Norris’ status, as well as the status of other key injured Sabres in advance of their game Saturday in Boston. According to the Sabres, Norris “is being evaluated and is not expected to play tomorrow,” while Zach Benson is confirmed to not be playing tomorrow, and Owen Power, who has been out with an illness, is hopeful to return for tomorrow’s game.
The key storyline here involves Norris, as his health has been a persistent nagging issue throughout his NHL career. Norris has undergone three surgeries on his left shoulder since 2019, and his shoulder issues have caused him to miss significant time, such as in the 2022-23 season when he got into just eight total games. The Sabres have classified the injury as “upper-body,” so we don’t know for sure at this stage if the injury has anything to do with Norris’ shoulder, but nonetheless it’s certainly not a positive development that Norris is already facing bad injury luck so early in what is a hugely important season for himself and the Sabres as a whole.