The Buffalo Sabres will open the 2024-25 regular season against the New Jersey Devils this weekend in the NHL Global Series in Prague as a completely healthy squad, but some of their Atlantic Division rivals have not been as fortunate.
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The Sabres were without team captain Rasmus Dahlin for the opening week of training camp with an unspecified injury, but the defenseman returned to practice and played in the exhibition game in Munich last Friday.
The Montreal Canadiens received some bad news on Tuesday, as 2023 first-round pick David Reinbacher will be out five to six months after suffering a knee injury in a pre-season game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. The news was not as dire on Patrik Laine’s injury. The winger left the same contest after a knee-on-knee collision with Leafs forward Cedric Pare. The injury was feared to be season-ending, but Laine will not have to undergo surgery and is expected to be out for two to three months.
The Ottawa Senators have reason for concern after losing three key players in a 4-3 victory over the Habs on Tuesday. Team captain Brady Tkachuk, center Tim Stutzle, and defenseman Thomas Chabot left the game and did not return. Tkachuk reportedly re-injured his shoulder in a fight with Canadiens blueliner Arber Xhekaj, who had hit Stutzle with an illegal hit to the head.
The Maple Leafs have played nearly all of the pre-season without new captain Auston Matthews and lost both center John Tavares and forward William Nylander in a win over Montreal last Thursday, but it is thought that their absences from games is precautionary.
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