Noah Ostlund's injury another blow to Sabres amid Game 5 loss to Bruins

Noah Ostlund's injury another blow to Sabres amid Game 5 loss to Bruins

Noah Ostlund's ankle injury was severe enough that he didn't play another minute of Game 5 in their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series Tuesday night at KeyBank Center. Down to 11 forwards, Sabres coach Lindy Ruff had to get creative.

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Noah Ostlund didn't hesitate.

As soon as the Buffalo Sabres center saw the puck in the corner Tuesday night, he skated toward Casey Mittelstadt to try to prevent a pass.


Buffalo Sabres center Noah Ostlund (86) skates with the puck against the Boston Bruins during the first period of Game 5
of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at the KeyBank Center on Tuesday, April 28, 2026. Harry Scull/Buffalo News

Mittelstadt whiffed. Ostlund crashed into the Boston Bruins forward. But, as Mittelstadt lost his balance in KeyBank Center, he fell on top of Ostlund's left ankle. The rookie crumbled. He was in agony as he tried to conjure the strength to get to the Sabres' bench.

The injury was severe enough that Ostlund did not play another minute of Game 5. Down to 11 forwards, Sabres coach Lindy Ruff had to get creative. His players had to find a way to eliminate a talented, desperate opponent on home ice.

David Pastrnak spoiled the party in downtown Buffalo.

A pass that could have led to a breakaway for Sabres center Ryan McLeod turned into a breakaway for Pastrnak, and he scored with 10:46 remaining in overtime to keep the Bruins alive with a 2-1 win in Game 5.

The Sabres carry a 3-2 series lead into Game 6 in Boston on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. There are two more opportunities to survive and advance. It seems unlikely, however, that Ruff will be able to write Ostlund’s name on the lineup card.

“He came back and tried, but it doesn’t look good,” said Ruff.

Reinforcements are on the way. Sabres center Josh Norris skated with the team Tuesday morning and should return to the lineup for Game 6. The Sabres had 62.5% of the 5-on-5 shot attempts when he was on the ice in games one and two, according to Natural Stat Trick. He's a two-time 20-goal scorer who produced 13 goals with 34 points in 44 regular-season games.

Ostlund gave Buffalo a spark, though. You could see from the 22-year-old center's first shift in Game 3 that he may be the missing piece. The 2022 first-round draft pick was so impressive that he was promoted to the top power-play unit. Ruff had Ostlund on the ice for 17:19 of the Sabres' 6-1 drubbing of the Bruins in Game 4, and his impact was almost immediate Tuesday night. Ostlund's shot from the right circle was the Sabres' first scoring chance during the first power-play of the game.

Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman stopped the shot, but it revealed a weakness in Boston's penalty-kill structure. The Sabres took advantage 3:35 into the first period with Rasmus Dahlin's slump-busting goal that snapped a 0-for-17 power-play drought during the playoffs. Their lineup, finally close to full strength with Norris' pending return, absorbed a significant blow when Bruins forward Mittelstadt fell on Ostlund.

Ostlund couldn't put weight on his left ankle. He hobbled down the hallway and toward the Sabres' dressing room, with trainers and team doctors following him. Several minutes later, Ostlund emerged from the tunnel and returned to the bench. He stepped on the ice during a stoppage in play to see whether his ankle was stable enough to return. It took a quick lap to realize he could not continue. The Sabres were down to 11 forwards for the final 48 minutes of regulation in an elimination game. Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, and Peyton Krebs played at least 23 minutes apiece. Jason Zucker was on the ice for 20:40.

“Obviously, it was their season tonight,” said Zucker. “But I’ll be honest, I thought we played a good game. I don’t think we had the pace we did the last couple. But it shows how tight this league is. Every team is unbelievable. They played a great game. You’ve got to give them credit.”

One talented rookie wouldn't have changed the way the Sabres began to play following their 1-0 lead. Unable to find space in the middle of the offensive zone, they kept passing the puck around the perimeter. Shots by defensemen were either blocked or deflected away from the Bruins' net. Forwards skated toward the crease to try for a tip, but the puck did not get through often enough.

Sabres forwards combined for six shots on goal, two by Ostlund, through 40 minutes in Game 5. They overpassed, like Thompson's choosing not to shoot from the slot with under 12 minutes to play in the third period, and they were disorganized in the offensive zone.

Finally, as the midway mark of the final period approached, Buffalo began to find space in the offensive zone. Thompson, Dahlin, and Jack Quinn created scoring chances with Boston hemmed in its own zone. Sabres fourth-line center Tyson Kozak had a chance in tight with 2:04 remaining, but he couldn't lift the puck over Swayman's left pad. The Sabres had seven high-danger scoring chances at 5 on 5 in the third period, according to Natural Stat Trick.

The Bruins were on the brink, and the end of their season seemed inevitable in overtime when the Sabres cycled the puck in the offensive zone. Tuch nearly scored the game-winner with a low shot through traffic, but Swayman made the save. An errant breakaway pass led to Pastrnak’s goal.

It's not the first time the Sabres have lost a talented player to an injury, and it likely won't be the last this postseason. Collectively, they lack playoff experience, but they've endured their share of adversity this season. Injuries were a prominent reason behind their slow start in October and November. They're now better equipped to win without a top-nine forward like Ostlund. The Sabres won Game 1 without him, and he was out of the lineup for nearly a month before returning in Game 3.

The way the Sabres approach each game is more important than who's in the lineup. They can't play the kind of firewagon hockey that we saw for stretches Tuesday night. If the Sabres get the puck out of their zone cleanly and make smart decisions in the offensive zone, they can win despite injuries. Ostlund's absence will cause Ruff to adjust, though.

The top power-play unit will need to be examined again. Ostlund gave them a shot in the arm with his play-making ability and willingness to shoot. Norris needs to perform the way former general manager Kevyn Adams expected when the Sabres traded Dylan Cozens to Ottawa for the former 35-goal scorer. They did not score a goal at 5 on 5 with Norris on the ice during games one and two. He made an impact when he was healthy during the regular season. Buffalo had a plus-17 goal differential at 5 on 5 with Norris on the ice, according to Natural Stat Trick.

The series will take at least one more game. It's unlikely Ostlund can be involved. The lineup will not matter, though, if the Sabres do not play the way they did during the third period and overtime Tuesday night.

“We feel confident in our game,” said Zucker. “We feel confident in our group. It was a really tough game. … Overall, we’re just going to try to learn from every bit of it.”

 

[HipKat]

The Athletic: Noah Östlund injury looms large as Sabres head back to Boston after Game 5 OT loss​

Noah Östlund injury looms large as Sabres head back to Boston after Game 5 OT loss

The Sabres are going to need to collectively get back to what was working in Boston, most likely without Östlund.

www.nytimes.com

The Bruins settled back into the stingy, detailed defensive game they had during the first three games of the series.
Bill Wippert / NHLI via Getty Images

This had the makings of another memorable night of hockey in Buffalo. The Sabres came into Tuesday’s game with a 3-1 series lead, fresh off a 6-1 beatdown of the Bruins in Game 4. This was a chance to end it in five games and do so on home ice for the franchise’s first playoff series win since 2007.

The buzz in Buffalo matched the moment ahead of puck drop. As anthem singer Cami Clune’s microphone cut out during her singing of Canada’s national anthem, the crowd in Buffalo took over and nailed every note of “O Canada.” From the moment the puck dropped, the “SWAY-MAN” chants filled the arena. And when Ramus Dahlin scored on the power play 3:35 into the game, it looked like the Sabres were about to pick up where they left off.

But the game quickly turned into another slog, and the Sabres lost 2-1 in overtime. After the opening goal, the Bruins settled back into the stingy, detailed defensive game they had during the first three games of the series. They played with the desperation of a team that wanted to bring the series back to Boston. And midway through the first period, the energy at KeyBank Center completely changed. Noah Östlund, the 22-year-old rookie who has impressed since he entered Buffalo’s lineup in Game 3, went into a wall battle with Bruins forward Casey Mittelstadt. Mittelstadt fell on Östlund’s left leg, twisting his ankle and knee in the process. Östlund let out a loud yell and crumpled into the fetal position on the ice before getting to his feet, struggling to the bench and limping down the tunnel toward the locker room.

A few minutes later, Östlund returned to the ice during a TV timeout to test out the injury. He quickly stepped off and went right back to the locker room. The team ruled him out for the game with a lower-body injury shortly thereafter.

“The fact he couldn’t come back, he came back and tried, but it doesn’t look good,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said after the game.

Without Östlund, the Sabres were short a forward, and the rookie has arguably been Buffalo’s best playmaking forward in the series. The injury forced Ruff to move Tyson Kozak, a fourth-liner who was a healthy scratch to start the series, into Östlund’s spot at center between Zach Benson and Josh Doan.

Overall, the Sabres couldn’t find the same offensive flow in this game. The Sabres had just two high-danger chances at five-on-five through two periods. Their puck touches weren’t as crisp, and the Bruins did a much better job of slowing down the Sabres’ forecheck.

When Elias Lindholm scored on a turnaround shot in the slot to get the Bruins even in the second period, the game became even tighter. The wild pregame energy in Buffalo turned into angst as many fans in the building got a reminder about the emotional whirlwind that is playoff overtime. The Sabres had seven high-danger chances in the third period and narrowly missed on a few opportunities to end the game in regulation. But the Bruins survived thanks to a few timely saves from Jeremy Swayman.

Then, in overtime, Jason Zucker had a prime chance, and his shot went into his teammate Jack Quinn.

“I thought it was going in,” Zucker said. “But it’s kind of one of those bounces. Like I said, I thought I had kind of an empty net. Unfortunately, it hits Quinny, and it doesn’t go in. But that’s the way it goes.”

After that, the Sabres’ top line of Peyton Krebs, Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch had a shift with sustained offensive-zone time and multiple shots on net. Swayman denied them. And then, as Krebs was entering the zone with a chance to set up Ryan McLeod for a breakaway, the Bruins broke up the play and flipped it the other way. David Pastrnak stepped onto the ice and collected a pass while narrowly avoiding an offside. He beat Alex Lyon on a breakaway and then threw himself at the glass and started screaming toward the Buffalo fans, “We’re coming back.”

This game came down to the small details that make up the tight margins in a playoff game. But what will matter now is how Ruff and his team manage to replace a player like Östlund. Playing short a forward all game hurt Buffalo, but playing without Östlund in particular left a noticeable hole in the lineup. His smooth zone entries, ability to win stick battles and hockey smarts made him a difference-maker in his first few playoff games. He even helped bring some life to Buffalo’s struggling power play, which got on the board in this game for the first time in its last 40 tries.

Now the Sabres will likely have to figure out life without him, at least in the short term. Josh Norris should be an option to replace Östlund in the lineup. Ruff said before the game that Norris was available to play. The Sabres ended up going with the same lineup they had for the two wins in Boston, both of which came without Norris. But Norris is a $7.95 million player. When the Sabres traded for him, Ruff said he thought he was capable of being a No. 1 center.

The Sabres haven’t gotten that version of him often since they acquired him. He played 44 games this season due to multiple injuries. He was ineffective in the first two games of this series before missing time with another injury. If there’s anyone on this roster capable of bringing a similar offensive pop to Buffalo’s lineup, it’s Norris.

But the Sabres are also going to need to collectively get back to what was working in Boston. Zucker mentioned that he thought the Sabres’ forecheck wasn’t as good as it was in Game 4. Zucker himself just missed a few prime chances. Buffalo’s top line wasn’t able to convert, and Thompson hasn’t scored since his two-goal outburst in the Sabres’ Game 1 comeback.

That’s the whole reason the game got to overtime. It ended in heartbreak by the narrowest of margins. Now the Sabres will have a day off on Wednesday before practicing on Thursday and taking a trip to Boston that they never wanted to have to make. But with a 3-2 series lead, multiple Sabres kept saying the team is still in a good place. Game 5 was a reminder that can all change quickly, though.

“It’s part of the playoffs,” Lyon said. “It’s one of the hardest things in the world, so we have to embrace that, and we have to be on a mission when we go into Boston.”