Avs Get Bourque and Johnson Back
Defenseman Erik Johnson and forward Rene Bourque are each expected to return to the lineup on Saturday. Johnson has missed 36 games since suffering a fractured leg on Dec. 3 against Dallas, and Bourque has missed 11 after taking a hit that kept him out of the remainder of Colorado's Feb. 1 game against the Los Angeles Kings. Bourque has registered 13 points in 43 games this season, and his nine goals are fifth on the team.
While Johnson's return to the lineup is an especially welcome development after the Avalanche lost Nikita Zadorov to a season-ending ankle injury on Monday, he'll have to gradually work back up to carrying the 22 minute-per-game workload he was handling prior to the injury.
"I think the reality is he's been out for months, so we'll ease him back into it a little bit. And he'll determine that by how he's feeling, what kind of game shape he's in. He's been working real hard off the ice. He always keeps himself in good condition, but playing in games and having guys lean on you constantly is a different animal," said head coach Jared Bednar following Friday's on-ice session at Family Sports Center. "He's been through a handful of practices now, and he's been skating for quite some time and working hard. So we'll probably start him out just 5-on-5 minutes in the regular rotation and see how all that goes and just keep evaluating him and ramp him up eventually back to where he was."
Buffalo Power Play
The Sabres have been one of the league's best teams with the man advantage this season, converting on 22.5 percent of their power-play opportunities. While their power play ranks third overall in the NHL, the numbers dip slightly on the road, where Buffalo has been successful on 20.2 percent of its power plays, good for 11th in the league.
Man-advantage scoring has been fairly balanced for the Sabres, who have gotten a team-high nine power-play tallies from Matt Moulson and 20 power-play points apiece from Rasmus Ristolainen and Kyle Okposo.