BOSTON – Buffalo Sabres defenseman Logan Stanley will be a game-time decision tonight against the Bruins, coach Lindy Ruff said.
Ruff said Stanley, who has been sick, skated this morning. The rest of the Sabres stayed off the ice as they prepared for Game 6 of the best-of-seven first-round playoff series.
The Sabres lead 3-2 and can win a playoff series tonight for the first time since 2007.
If Stanley can’t play, defenseman Michael Kesselring would replace him and play alongside Conor Timmins.
“When the (lineup) sheet goes up, he understands that there’s a good opportunity for him to play,” Ruff said in the Four Seasons One Dalton.
Kesselring, who battled injuries early in the season, has sat out 20 of the last 22 contests as a healthy scratch, including all five games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“Really worked hard,” Ruff said. “He’s done a lot of work post-practice, during practice, really liked how he’s skating. Probably skating as well now as he skated post-all the injuries he dealt with.”
Since training camp, the 6-foot-5, 215-pound Kesselring has battled a knee injury and a high ankle sprain he re-injured. He has said the knee injury will nag him all season.
Before the Sabres acquired Stanley and defenseman Luke Schenn from the Winnipeg Jets before the trade deadline, Kesselring found a bit of a groove.
Kesselring hasn’t played since April 15, the regular-season finale.
“I thought his game was getting to a better place, for sure, and we got to see that in those last few games of the season,” Ruff said.
In other lineup news, center Josh Norris is expected to replace rookie Noah Ostlund, who suffered a lower-body injury in Tuesday’s 2-1 overtime loss.
Norris missed two games with an upper-body injury but was available to play in Game 5.