Frightening injury just happened during the Habs vs Sabres game
Jason Zucker took a shot off his body Tuesday night in Montreal, and the Buffalo Sabres bench held its breath.
Joe Yerdon reported from Centre Bell that the 34-year-old veteran ate a block and got hurt during Game 4. He didn't return for the next shift.
That's the kind of update Lindy Ruff didn't need with the series already producing a moving injury list.
Zucker had been one of Buffalo's most reliable producers all year. The American forward put up 24 goals and 45 points in 62 regular season games at a 4.75 million cap hit.
His power play numbers are the part that matters most here. 10 power play goals during the regular season made him a key piece on the man advantage.
Ruff had reportedly slotted Zucker on the second power play unit before puck drop. Now the head coach might need to rework that lineup mid-series.
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Ruff's depth chart keeps getting shorter against Montreal
The Sabres injury picture has been piling up for days. Sam Carrick exited the lineup after the end-of-game altercation with Arber Xhekaj in Game 3.
Carrick's role isn't fancy. The 34-year-old depth center went 9 goals and 16 points in 73 regular season games. But he's the kind of bottom-six body Buffalo needs on the penalty kill.
Without him and now potentially without Zucker, Ruff is running thinner than the coaching staff planned for at the start of Round 2.
Tage Thompson is still leading the Sabres' top six. The 28-year-old forward sits at 7 points across 8 playoff games at plus-2. Buffalo needs him every night.
The math here favors Montreal. Martin St-Louis' Canadiens already had the home ice for the next two games. Now the opposition bench gets shorter and the matchup advantages tilt.
Game 5 lands Thursday with Zucker's status hanging over the morning skate. The medical staff will know more before the broadcast tells the public.
Buffalo's penalty kill and power play both lose pieces if Zucker can't go. The 10 power play goals don't get replaced by a callup from Rochester overnight.
Ruff has been pulling levers for two weeks. He's running out of new ones.
This series isn't over. But it's getting harder to ice the lineup the Sabres broke camp with in October. The next 48 hours decide whether Buffalo brings a healthy roster to Game 5 or just a determined one.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 12, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Pavel Dorofeyev | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Tomas Hertl | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Tage Thompson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Josh Doan | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Jack Eichel | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Cutter Gauthier | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Mason McTavish | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Zach Benson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Cole Caufield | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alex Newhook | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Mattias Samuelsson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Beckett Sennecke | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Olen Zellweger | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Rasmus Dahlin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ivan Demidov | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jake Evans | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Lane Hutson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Norris | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brandon Saad | - | 1 | 1 | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||