4 hours Ago By Dom Tibbetts
BUFFALO, NY. (WKBW) — No one was California Dreamin' more than the Buffalo Sabres after their three-game sweep out on the West Coast over Los Angeles, Anaheim, and San Jose. Back at home, the focus is now on the Minnesota Wild come Wednesday night and it'll be a big test for head coach Lindy Ruff and company because the schedule only gets tougher for the next few weeks.
"We have an extremely tough schedule coming and the teams we're playing starting tomorrow are extremely tough teams to generate opportunities against," said Ruff. "You go up against Minnesota and they're having a nice year and they aren't giving up a lot. You hope the team can exceed the intensity they were able to bring on the road trip.
" Now, some good news for Buffalo is that forward Tage Thomspon said he expects to play Wednesday night against the Wild. Thompson hasn't played since suffering a lower-body injury back on November 11. Thompson also told reporters that he felt "good to go" for this past weekend's games, but the team decided to err on the side of caution and rest him.
It may not have been what he wanted at the time, but Thompson added that it was the right decision when considering the long-term picture of the season. "I think taking that week to make sure I was 100% and make sure it's not something that's going to nag the rest of the season, I feel good, had a good day today and I'm ready to go tomorrow," said Thompson. In other injury news , fellow forward Jordan Greenway was spotted at practice today in street clothes.
Ruff said he had a non-operational type procedure done that could help in his recovery from the mid-body injury he's been dealing with. Ruff added that they'll know more in the coming days. Puck drop at the KeyBank Center on Wednesday night between Buffalo and Minnesota is set for 7 p.
m..
