Playoff committed Buffalo Sabres lose forward Matt Ellis indefinitely -NHL Update
A playoff committed Buffalo Sabres team felt a blow to their fourth-line forward line-up as Matt Ellis was announced to be out indefinitely due to an incident that occurred during their matchup against Ottawa Senators on Saturday, by the club on Monday,
March 12, 2012.
It still has not been determined whether the knee related injury would be a cause for the forward to miss the remainder of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season, but head coach, Lindy Ruff, has yet to confirm it or officially rule it
out.
"Matty doesn't look good. I think the news on Matty is going to be bad," coach Lindy Ruff said after the game against Ottawa, which they won in a shootout 4-3. "Initially, it looks like it's going to be some time."
The announcement was made by the team prior to their matchup against Montreal Canadiens, which they managed to win for a third straight victory, this time in overtime.
Buffalo Sabres have now moved into the ninth place in the Eastern Conference with 74 points. They are just two points away from tying eighth place Washington Capitals while Winnipeg Jets fell down ever further, now in number 10 with 72.
Now, as Sabres are closer to achieving their dreams of making the playoffs more than ever, missing Matt Ellis could have a dramatic effect on an already injury riddled team. Andrej Sekera is also out at the moment due to pneumonia and does not have a fixed
date of return as well.
Matt Ellis is currently in his fourth straight season with Buffalo Sabres. He played the most career games this season with 59 and has a total point record of eight points (3 goals, 5 assists) and 25 minutes in penalty time.
Throughout his career, Ellis hold 260 games played along with 41 points (16 goals, 25 assists).
If the Buffalo Sabres make the playoffs by the end of this season, having Matt Ellis on the fourth line will definitely make an impact in crucial moments of the postseason matchups. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Buffalo without
their veteran left winger on board.
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