The Buffalo Sabres begin the Western portion of their four-game road swing in Salt Lake City on Wednesday with a lineup depleted by injury and illness. Head coach Lindy Ruff revealed earlier in the week that what was thought to be an inner ear imbalance with center Jiri Kulich turned out to be a blood clot issue and that he will miss significant time.
In a radio interview on WGR 550 on Tuesday, Ruff provided an update on Jason Zucker, who like Kulich last played on November 1. The veteran winger was placed on injured reserve almost immediately, but his illness has turned out to be more severe than anyone expected.
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“The Zucker one has been a crazy one. It’s one of those crazy viral sicknesses,” Ruff said. “One of our coaches had a conversation with him (on Monday), and he hasn’t had an solid food for nine days and has gone through every type of test……he’s down a considerable amount of weight and when he does start feeling better, it’s going to take a real good period of time to get him back and up-and-running.”
Winger Zach Benson skated before Sabres practices before the club travelled west and Ruff was uncertain whether the winger would join the club on the road or stay in Buffalo to continue undergoing treatments. The Sabres take on the Avalanche in Denver on Thursday and finish in Detroit on Saturday before returning home to play Edmonton on Monday.
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