Sabres captain Kyle Okposo will probably be out on a week-to-week foundation with a lower-body injury, the group mentioned. Okposo was unexpectedly absent from group follow on Tuesday, as relayed by The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski, but it surely’s unclear when he sustained the injury between this morning and Sunday’s loss towards the Senators.
Okposo, 35, is in his second season because the Sabres’ captain and his eighth in Buffalo since signing a seven-year, $42M contract as a free agent in the summertime of 2016. He’s now not certain to that preliminary long-term deal, signing a one-year, $2.5M contract extension to stay in upstate New York for this season final May.
It’s been one other first rate season of depth manufacturing from the Minnesotan, who missed important chunks of the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons with extreme concussion signs. While he had no factors in his final 4 video games earlier than the injury, he had notched eight objectives and 6 assists for 14 factors in 38 video games. That places him on the precise 0.37 points-per-game tempo he set final season with the Sabres, though it stays a step again from the 21 objectives and 45 factors he scored within the 2021-22 marketing campaign.
Okposo hasn’t been the bona fide second-line winger the Sabres thought they had been getting nearly eight years in the past, however the seventh general choose by the Islanders within the 2006 NHL Draft has grown right into a worthwhile veteran presence on a group largely dominated by younger expertise. He doesn’t log a ton of time on particular groups items, though he does nonetheless see occasional utilization on the ability play and penalty kill and averages practically 14 minutes per sport in all conditions. His 49.6% Corsi share at even energy definitely doesn’t make him a chance-suppression juggernaut, however he’s averted turning into a legal responsibility within the late levels of his profession.
It’s a tricky injury break for a Sabres group that’s already dealt with the longer-term absences of Zach Benson, Zemgus Girgensons, Jack Quinn, and Tage Thompson this 12 months. After an already disappointing begin to the season, the Sabres are not any nearer to turning issues round with a 4-5-1 document of their final ten video games. Nearly midway by way of the NHL calendar, their playoff probabilities have dipped beneath ten %, per MoneyPuck – a tricky spot to be in for a rebuilding group anticipated to take steps ahead from their tenth-place end within the Eastern Conference final season. Their 15-19-4 document has them 14th within the convention at current, forward of solely the Blue Jackets and Senators.
With two further forwards already on the roster obtainable to switch Okposo within the lineup (Victor Olofsson and Eric Robinson), the Sabres don’t must make a recall from AHL Rochester. If they select to take action, they at present have a full 23-player roster and would wish to maneuver Okposo to injured reserve to accommodate a recall. One of Olofsson or Robinson will possible slot in a fourth-line position alongside Girgensons and Peyton Krebs of their subsequent sport towards the Canadiens on Thursday.
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