Tyler Ennis’ return to the Buffalo Sabres lineup on Monday after a 30-game absence seemed like a breath of fresh air. Tuesday, then, represents letting the air out of the balloon.
The Sabres announced that Ennis wasn’t out for warm-ups heading into tonight’s Sabres - Toronto Maple Leafs game. It certainly gives the impression that his groin injury isn’t fully healed.
Ennis contributed a goal to Buffalo’s 4-1 win against the Dallas Stars on Monday and nearly scored another in “lacrosse” style:
Tyler Ennis breaking out some puck sorcery. Almost a goal! pic.twitter.com/8TpE7XiKN6
— SB Nation NHL (@SBNation_NHL) January 16, 2017
When healthy, he’s been a 20-goal, 40+ point player for Buffalo lately, so he was missed. The team tweeted out Ryan O’Reilly’s comments about Ennis’ return mere hours ago, so you get the impression that it was a surprise for many:
Ryan O'Reilly on the return of Tyler Ennis & the budding Sabres-Leafs rivalry - pic.twitter.com/d6tWunbufn
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) January 17, 2017
Maybe it’s just a minor setback?
Update: The Sabres deem it a “precautionary scratch,” according to John Vogl of the Buffalo News. So maybe file this under minor setback. We’ll see.