OTTAWA – In his first weeks in Buffalo, Sam Carrick quickly established himself as a sturdy and versatile presence as the Sabres’ fourth-line center.
In addition to winning critical faceoffs, Carrick, who seems to do a little bit of everything well, scored five goals and fought twice in his first 13 games.
But Carrick’s willingness to drop the gloves proved to be costly.
Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said Carrick, 34, is week to week after injuring his left arm when he fell hard to the ice as he fought New York Islanders captain Anders Lee in Tuesday’s 4-3 win.
“It’s going to be some time,” Ruff said this afternoon in the Canadian Tire Centre, where the Sabres can clinch a playoff berth tonight if they beat the Senators.
Still, Ruff said he hasn’t ruled out Carrick for the playoffs, which begin April 18 and 19.
In the meantime, replacing him will be difficult.
Following his arrival from the New York Rangers hours before the March 6 trade deadline, he made an immediate impact.
In his debut March 7, he won two critical defensive-zone draws to secure a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators. In his second outing March 8, he scored and fought in a wild 8-7 triumph over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“He really played well for us,” Ruff said. “He had found a real good role. We were looking at him helping with faceoffs. That fourth line was scoring important goals. It’s a loss, but you’ve got to have somebody step in.”
Center Josh Dunne, who hasn’t played since March 5, is expected to replace Carrick tonight.
Dunne, who skated between Jordan Greenway and Beck Malenstyn this morning, showcased chemistry earlier this season pivoting those wingers.
The Sabres have two other extra forwards: Tyson Kozak and Tanner Pearson.
“We’ve got options,” Ruff said. “We’ve got a speed option. We got a more heavy option with Dunner. You look at for a period of time when Greenway was in the lineup, he played with Mal and Dunner, and they actually controlled a lot of the play, they were getting great opportunities.
“So it’s an opportunity for him, Kozak, Pearson, those guys to step and help us win games.”
In other lineup news, goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is expected to make his third straight start as the Sabres try to end their NHL-record 14-year playoff drought.
“I think we know how we have to play,” Ruff said. “You don’t change the way you play because of the game. We know what the game means.”