BUFFALO, NY – Sabers striker Kyle Okposo will miss the rest of the season after being operated on to repair a broken bone in his left cheek, the team announced Saturday.
Okposo was injured after being hit by teammate Matt Irwin in the first period of a 5-2 win in Washington on Thursday.
Okposo, 32, joins a growing list of injuries for the last team that is a loss for being mathematically eliminated from the playoffs and coinciding with a 10-year post-season drought recorded in the NHL. The Sabers are less captain Jack Eichel, starting lineman Linus Ullmark and defender Jake McCabe.
A 14-year NHL veteran completing his fifth season in Buffalo, Okposo has two goals and 11 assists in 35 games this year.
Okposo has played a valuable leadership role and has been a stabilizing voice for a team that suffered 18 unbeaten runs this season, which coincided with the 14th longest in NHL history.
“Everyone is watching him, so we’re definitely losing a lot of him,” interim coach Don Granato said before Buffalo hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins. “It’s bad he’s gone and he’s missing the season, but I’m certainly grateful he got this far, because he’s done so much for us.”