The Buffalo Sabres began their four-game road trip with a 6-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, and after practicing in Buffalo on Monday the club headed out for the Rocky Mountain leg of the trip, playing back-to-back nights against the Utah Mammoth on Wednesday and Colorado Avalanche on  Thursday. 

Head coach Lindy Ruff indicated that center Jiri Kulich would miss “significant time” with a blood clot issue, but also provided an update on other players who did not take to the ice at Harborcenter. On the positive side, Mattias Samuelsson was given a maintenance day and is expected to play against the Mammoth, but the report on Jason Zucker was not encouraging. 

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"Zucker (has a) real severe viral or flu-like thing that just he hasn't been able to shake," Ruff said. "(He's) undergone a lot of tests and still isn't doing that well."

The veteran winger has not played since November 1 against Washington, and was placed on injured reserve soon after. Winger Zach Benson has been on the ice before practices the last few days, but does not seem to be close to returning. Ruff did not confirm whether the winger would accompany the club on the road or stay in Buffalo to continue undergoing treatments. 

Adding injured center Josh Norris and winger Justin Danforth, the Sabres are currently without five forwards that were expected to make up their top-12, and they will have to battle through with the next few weeks with a depleted lineup to stay within range of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.  

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