Sabres’ Noah Ostlund to miss ‘a period of time’ with lower-body injury

Some unwanted news for a team trying to win its first playoff series in a long time.

When speaking to the media on Wednesday, Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff revealed that forward Noah Ostlund is going to be out for “a period of time” with a lower-body injury. Ruff said there wasn’t any timeline for his return to the lineup.

Ostlund suffered the injury during Game 5 of the Sabres’ Atlantic Division Semifinal against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night. A little past the halfway mark of the opening period, Ostlund got tangled up with Bruins forward and former Sabre, Casey Mittelstadt. After managing to get to his feet, Ostlund limped off the ice and went straight to the Buffalo locker room.

The Sabres later announced that he wouldn’t return to the game. Ostlund logged just 2.55 of ice time across four shifts, posting two shots on goal. The Bruins went on to win the game, 2-1, avoiding elimination thanks to an overtime goal from David Pastrnak, cutting the series deficit to 3-2.

With Ostlund out of the lineup, it opens the door for Josh Norris to return to the lineup. The Oxford, Mich. native has missed Games 3 and 4 due to an undisclosed ailment, but Ruff noted Norssi was held out for Game 5, though he was reported to be healthy. He didn’t register a point in the first two games against Boston.

Ostlund has appeared in those past three games of the series against the Bruins, scoring a goal and an assist in the team’s big 3-1 victory in Boston last week. He has a plus/minus of +3 while averaging 11:31 of ice time. It comes after the Stockholm native had a solid rookie season, scoring 11 goals and 16 assists for 27 points in 60 games.

The Sabres will have another chance to vanquish the Bruins on Friday night in Game 6 at TD Garden. Puck drop is scheduled for a little after 7:30 p.m. ET.