PHILADELPHIA -- Coach Lindy Ruff shed some light on the Buffalo Sabres' injury woes after Tuesday's season-ending loss to the Philadelphia Flyers and did not paint a pretty picture as to what the Sabres would have been forced to deal with had they advanced to play the Washington Capitals.
Ruff revealed the leg gash suffered by Jason Pominville in Game Five was serious, and that a tendon had been sliced. The winger needs surgery and the injury would have kept him sidelined 4-6 months had the injury happened during the regular season. Ruff also said center Tim Connolly would have been out six weeks with an undisclosed injury after taking Mike Richards' hit Sunday.
After leaving his postgame press conference, Ruff told a Toronto Sun reporter Pominville's injury was "the worst gash I've ever seen."
In addition, Rob Niedermayer's status would have been uncertain as he played just 12 minutes Tuesday after taking a hit from behind from Danny Briere, who earned only a two-minute penalty on the play.
Patrick Kaleta, Mike Grier and Jordan Leopold were all surprise absentees from the morning skate although Grier (knee) and Leopold (flu) managed to play in the game. Derek Roy, Mark Mancari, Jochen Hecht and Andrej Sekera were all inserted in the lineup as Matt Ellis and the struggling Steve Montador were scratched.
Kaleta did not make the trip and there were rumors he was out because of a broken hand. It's unclear if he suffered the injury during Game Six, especially since he played right through to the final shift of overtime, or if there was some situation in the locker room after the game where he suffered an injury.
Ruff scoffed when pressed on Kaleta's situation following the morning skate.
"I'm not commenting," Ruff said. "After the game? You guys like to make up crap. That's a good story, that one."
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Originally Posted by Yasgur's Farm
