BUFFALO, NY – Swordsman Kyle Okposo will miss the rest of the season after repairing a broken bone in his left cheek, the team announced on Saturday.
Okposo was injured after being hit by teammate Matt Irwin in the first period of a 5-2 victory in Washington on Thursday.
Okposo, 32, joins a growing list of injuries for the last-place team, which is a loss from being mathematically eliminated from the playoffs and matching an NHL record of 10 years of post-season drought. Sabers are already minus captain Jack Eichel, starting goalkeeper Linus Ullmark and defender Jake McCabe.
A 14-year NHL veteran, who is finishing 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 has gone through an 18-game winless skid this season, matching the 14th longest in NHL history.
“Everyone is looking at him, so we’re definitely losing a lot of that,” interim coach Don Granato said before Buffalo hosted the Pittsburgh penguins. “It’s bad it happened and he’s missing the season, but I’m certainly grateful we’ve had him so far, because he’s done a lot of things for us.”