Thank the hockey gods that the Buffalo Sabres have the Rochester Amerks as their AHL affiliate. The two cities are conveniently located just 80 miles away from one another which makes it easy to call-up players in times of trouble. Like right now. The Sabres are mired in a health crisis with a nasty flu bug and injuries ravaging the Buffalo roster.
The great news for the Sabres is that the Christmas break begins after tonight's game in Detroit Players will have off on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The Sabres host the Islanders on Saturday night.
Just what Santa ordered. Some time at home with family and friends.
Ted Nolan put the kibosh on Monday's scheduled practice in Detroit and opted to give his team a rest and recovery day. He told them to order room service and to stay in their hotel rooms as a precautionary measure.
Nolan and Tim Murray used their Monday afternoon to asses the damage done to their roster by injuries and the flu strain that has infected their team. They have called up another Amerk to join the three others that are already on board. They also flew a veteran in from Buffalo.
Sabres head coach Nolan gave an update on all of his injured and sick players this morning on WGR.
Marcus Foligno suffered a hand injury in his fight with Matt Barrtowski in Boston on Sunday night. Marc us was defending his captain from Bartkowski’s cheap shot. The team flew Foligno home on Monday to be re-evaluated by team doctors. Nolan says that Foligno may be lost for “months…. Ugh.
Thanks @ThePeteBlackburn
It sucks for Foligno that he is injured. He's been playing his best hockey of the season in the past month. I love how he sacrificed his own health to stick up for his captain who was suckered by the cowardly Bartkowski. That type of valor and courage speaks to Foligno's character. He always stands up for his teammates.
Gionta will miss “weeks… with an upper body injury. Nolan said that its not a concussion. Looked like a shoulder to me.
One door closed, then another one opened for Finnish scoring prospect Joel Armia who has ben called up to take Foligno’s place in the lineup in Detroit tonight. It will be Armia’s NHL debut.
The 21 year old Finn has been impressive in Rochester this season. He has had a nice bounce back season after a disappointing 2013-14 season where he injured his hand. Armia is big, strong and can skate like a freight train. He loves to drive off the walls to the blue paint. His quick catch-quick release shot is hard and accurate. He's been playing with a lot of confidence and is expected to play big in the NHL. The Sabres surely can use his size, strength and scoring prowess right about now.
In 21 games in Rochester this season, Armia has scored 7 goals and added 9 assists.
He was the 16th overall pick in the 2011 entry draft.
Tyler Myers is still hobbled by a lower body injury and will miss tonight’s game. The Red Wings won’t be able to scouit Myers in Detroit tonight. Tyson Strachan is also injured so Mark Pysyk will stay in the Buffalo ,ineup.
As for the sick bay, Matt Moulson did not make the trip to Daytwa. He was left home to deal with his flu like symptoms. Pat Kaleta has made a receovery from his symptoms and flerw to Detroit tio join the team on Monday night.
Mikhail Grigorenko, Johan Larsson and Tim Schaller will remain in the Buffalo lineup tonight. Armia makes five Amerks in tonight's lineup. I can't wait to watch him compete against future Hall of Famers Zetterberg, Datsyuk, and Franzen.
Its as if Rochester is loaded with a seemingly endless supply of shiny new toys to replace the older, comprised or broken ones. Tim Murray is blessed to have world class young talent in his pipeline that can be activated and dispatched at a moment's notice. Murray and Ted Nolan routinely watch their kids play in Rochester and can easily evaluate each player to determine which ones to promote in times of trouble, like today.