The Buffalo Sabres will be without Ryan O’Reilly during Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and that might just be the beginning.
The fantastic two-way center ranks as one of the top reasons why people believe that the Sabres have some major pieces in place to turn things around.
It’s considered a lower-body injury at the moment.
Coach Bylsma says Bailey will play; Ryan O'Reilly will be out today with a lower-body injury.
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) February 21, 2016
Buffalo would be wise to handle this situation carefully, then, as it sounds like there might be an update with a more dire reading than “day-to-day” later on today.
Ryan O'Reilly was limping after game in Columbus and met with trainers there. Could be a foot and several weeks, source says. We'll see soon
— John Vogl (@BuffaloVogl) February 21, 2016
No doubt about it, that’s a bummer.
Again, the Sabres would be wise to tread lightly, as their focus should likely be on “selling” around trade deadline time and generally gearing up for the 2016-17 season. If this is a matter of “weeks,” maybe they should tell ROR to save his energy for next year.
They could be aiming to make bigger steps forward by then.