Sam Carrick Available for Game 3 Against Canadiens
sam carrick is available for Game 3 against the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday, giving the Buffalo Sabres a possible lineup change after a 5-1 loss in Game 2. Carrick has not played in the postseason since the upper-body injury he suffered on March 31, and Lindy Ruff said he was available.
Lindy Ruff and Bell Centre
Carrick did not skate with the extras at Bell Centre on Sunday morning, while Tyson Kozak did. That leaves Buffalo with one late decision before the puck drops in Montreal, and it comes after the Sabres fell behind 2-0 in the series with a 5-1 defeat at KeyBank Center on Friday.
Ruff has a clear read on what Carrick can add. “I think we saw what he brought,” he said. “He brought us some offense. He was good on face-offs. And his penalty killing was good for us. His 5-on-5 play was excellent and that's what he can bring.”
Face-offs for Buffalo
The draw numbers explain why Buffalo may want him back. The Sabres have won 40.4 percent of the face-offs in this series, going 42 of 104 at the dot. Carrick had six points in 13 games after Buffalo acquired him from the New York Rangers on March 6, including five goals and one assist.
Ruff called him “a great veteran player in our lineup” and said, “We saw it when he was in the lineup there throughout the end of the regular season before the injury, just how effective he can be.” He added, “He's great in the face-off circle, he's great on the forecheck, and he scored a lot of big goals for us too in a limited amount of amount of time. So when that time is, when he checks back in for us, whenever that is, he's obviously a key part to us winning hockey games and a staple down there on that fourth line.”
Canadiens stay unchanged
Montreal is coming back with the same lineup that outplayed Buffalo in Game 2. Cole Caufield, who scored 51 goals in the regular season, has one goal through nine playoff games, while 11 other Canadiens players have scored at least once in the postseason. Alex Newhook has three goals in the past three games, giving Montreal another threat after the opener in the second-round series.
Buffalo also has its goaltending picture settled for now. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen started the first two games of the Sabres' Eastern Conference First Round against the Boston Bruins, and Alex Lyon replaced him for Game 3 before going 4-1 in the next five games. That leaves the Sabres trying to turn a possible Carrick return into cleaner work on draws and a better response after Friday's loss.
