Great News for the Buffalo Sabres on Friday

The Buffalo Sabres finally get back on the ice for game action tomorrow afternoon against the Calgary Flames.

The Sabres have gone a week and a half without playing in a game, while other teams have been playing since the start of the week. The Sabres have three games in hand on the Washington Capitals, while the New York Islanders have played five more games.

The Florida Panthers have played four more games than Buffalo as well, who are now ahead of the Sabres in the race for a wild card playoff spot.

The good news is that the Sabres control their own playoff destiny and they got great news on Friday about their best offensive player.

Head coach Don Granato said that center Tage Thompson is ready to play tomorrow against the Flames.

Thompson was dealing with an upper-body injury for a few games, which caused him to leave the game against the Carolina Hurricanes, which was the final game before the all-star break.

Thompson is on pace for over 50 goals and over 100 points. Meanwhile, the Sabres have a few players who are on a pace for over 75 points, which includes Rasmus Dahlin, Alex Tuch, Jeff Skinner and Dylan Cozens.

The NHL trade deadline is coming up on March 3rd and we have to wait and see if general manager Kevyn Adams decides to acquire help for a playoff push; that could be a veteran forward or even a goaltender to help in the short-term.