Buffalo Sabres forward Sam Carrick will miss the team’s first-round series against the Boston Bruins, head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed on Thursday.
Carrick, 34, injured his left arm during a fight against New York Islanders captain Anders Lee as part of a 4-3 victory.
The 6-foot centre was acquired by the Sabres prior to the March trade deadline from the New York Rangers in exchange for two draft picks.
Carrick recorded five goals and six points in 13 games with the Sabres. He has nine goals and 16 points in 73 games split between the Rangers and Buffalo.
Lindy Ruff said Sam Carrick is not a possibility to play in this series against Boston. Noah Ostlund is a possibility.
— Matthew Fairburn (@MatthewFairburn) April 16, 2026
Drafted 144th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2010, Carrick has 43 goals and 89 points in 393 career games split between the Maple Leafs, Anaheim Ducks, Edmonton Oilers, Rangers, and Sabres.
He helped the Oilers reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2024, appearing in 10 games during the playoff run.
Buffalo is making their first playoff appearance since the 2010-11 campaign after winning the Atlantic Division with a 50-23-9 record.
The Sabres will begin their first round series with the Bruins on Sunday.
Ostlund, Lyon possible to return
Ruff told reporters on Thursday that forward Noah Ostlund could return during the team’s first-round series and that goaltender Alex Lyon is not expected to be ready for Game 1 but could also return later in the series.
Ostlund, 22, sustained an upper-body injury in late March and missed the team’s last 10 games.
Lindy says several players sitting out. No surprise. I’m guessing Dahlin-Samuelsson-Thompson-Zucker among them.
— Mike Harrington (@ByMHarrington) April 15, 2026
Said Lyon feeling better and Ostlund is as well. Doesn’t sound like either for start of Boston series but seems like would be available at some point.
The 5-foot-11 centre recorded 11 goals and 27 points in 60 games during his rookie season with the Sabres.
He was drafted 16th overall by the Sabres in 2022 and appeared in eight games prior to this season.
Lyon, 33, missed the last five games with a lower-body injury, but is expected to return to practice on Saturday.
The 6-foot-1 netminder has split time in net with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, going 20-10-4 with a .907 save percentage and 2.77 goals-against average.
He set a Sabres record earlier this season by recording 10 consecutive wins from Dec. 9 to Jan. 29.
Lyon joined the Sabres on a two-year, $3 million contract in the off-season and has a career 71-48-15 record with a .903 save percentage and 2.93 GAA.
