The Buffalo Sabres are hoping to bounce back from a nightmarish start of the season after losing their first two games and losing center Josh Norris to an unspecified upper-body injury. Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff indicated in Boston on Saturday that the 26-year-old center would be out a significant amount of time after leaving late in the third period of the season opening 4-0 loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday. On his 32 Thoughts podcast on Monday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman indicated that the injury will keep Norris out “eight weeks at least”.

The Sabres were depending on Norris to make up for some of the offense they lost in trading second leading scorer JJ Peterka over the summer, but with him out until at least Christmas, the club will have to find a solution internally. Ruff opted on Saturday to fall back on a combination that clicked late last season, shifting youngster Jiri Kulich to the top line with Tage Thompson and moving 20-goal scorer Ryan McLeod up to center the second line.

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Kulich went -2 in just under 19 minutes of ice time in a 3-1 loss to the Bruins. Through two games, the Sabres have just one goal, something that Ruff attributed to a lack of compete. He also put some onus on the club’s core group and how they need to step up and perform to help Buffalo get going.

Depending on Kulich’s success playing top line minutes, Ruff may have to consider the possibility of shifting Thompson back to center (where he played most of the first half last season), but the club’s leading scorer seemed to find his groove after the Four Nations break playing on the wall. If these options do not yield success, the Sabres could look to prospects like Noah Ostlund or Konsta Helenius in Rochester or consider a trade if they hope to stay within striking distance of the playoffs.

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Report - Sabres' Norris Out Eight Weeks At Least