Norris Goes Into Concussion Protocol After the Overtime Win

Buffalo beat Toronto 5–4 in overtime Wednesday, which was the good news. The bad news arrived shortly after: center Josh Norris entered concussion protocol following a collision in the extra period and is now day-to-day. He had 24 points in 23 games this season before the hit.

The timing is rough. The Sabres are already scoring 2.7 goals per game over their last 10 — down sharply from where they were a month ago — and the center depth behind Tage Thompson is thin. Noah Ostlund is next up at the position. Norris was one of the few secondary pieces generating consistent production at even strength, and his absence, even a short one, tightens an already narrow margin.

Jiri Kulich is also day-to-day, so the forward group is absorbing attrition on multiple fronts simultaneously. The defense is still sorting itself out with Rasmus Dahlin out and AHL call-ups filling the back end. The overtime win snapped a two-game skid, which matters. But the roster that has to build on it looks a little different than the one that took the ice Wednesday night.