East Notes: Norris, Greenway, Staal, Fabbro, Roy

The Buffalo Sabres are working on winning their second consecutive game without a pair of forwards. Earlier today, TSN reported that Sabres’ Joshua Norris wouldn’t make his return to Ottawa this evening as he remains away from the team due to a mid-body injury, and Jordan Greenway has missed his fifth straight game with a lower-body injury (Tweet Link).

Despite being acquired by Buffalo at the trade deadline, Norris has only appeared in three games for the Sabres. He’s been productive in those contests, scoring one goal and one assist, averaging 18:36 of ice time a night, and maintaining a 54.0% playoff race. There’s no word on whether or not Norris’s season has ended, but he may be better served by fully healing from his current injury to start the 2025-26 season fresh for Buffalo.

Meanwhile, Greenway is similarly prone to injuries, especially this season. The gritty middle-six forward has only appeared in 34 of the Sabres’ 74 games this season, scoring three goals and eight points. Still, although he’s missed over half of the team’s regular season contests, the Sabres to a two-year, $8MM extension with mild trade protection.

Other injury notes from the Eastern Conference:

• According to Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer, Carolina Hurricanes’ captain Jordan Staal is unlikely to suit up tomorrow against the Washington Capitals. Staal is dealing with a lower-body injury, but it’s not considered severe, as Alexander notes he would only be withheld from the lineup for precautionary reasons. Depth forward Tyson Jost will likely take Staal’s place in the lineup should he miss a second consecutive contest.
• The Columbus Blue Jackets benefited greatly tonight from the return of defenseman Dante Fabbro from an undisclosed injury (Tweet Link). After tallying three points in the team’s recent win against the Vancouver Canucks, Fabbro missed against the Senators before returning tonight. In an equally promising game, Fabbro scored one goal and one assist in 20:41 of ice time.
• Defenseman Dylan McIlrath has already made his presence in the Washington Capitals lineup felt tonight after engaging in a heavyweight bout with Boston Bruins’ forward, Jeffrey Viel. The only reason McIlrath is in the lineup tonight is that Matt Roy is out for familial reasons, as reported by Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post. There’s no timeline for Roy’s return.