Tallinder out with broken arm

I just read the news that Buffalo defenseman Henrik Tallinder is lost for the remainder of the playoffs. According to this story, he's out with a broken left arm.

I don't recall the hit at all, but apparently it was the result of an "innocent" hit in Buffalo's zone late in the third. I'll have to re-view the game to see if I can spot what happened.

Dmitri Kalinin is already out with a broken ankle, and Teppo Numminen is out with a bad groin strain. This made their blue line a bit vulnerable to begin with. This could be a crushing blow to the Sabres.

They had already brought up Doug Janik from Rochester, who served the function of "warm body". Now they will be forced to make another drastic roster change. One scenario, according to the same article, would be converting JPom into a defenseman. He's a good two-way player, but this would cause trouble with their forward chemistry. They are already having to deal with the uncertain health of Tim Connolly, who might be nicknamed "Captian Cuncussion". You recall that Connolly missed the entire 2003-04 season with a concussion. Late in the regular season this year, he missed a bunch of games with a knee injury (Darius Kaspairitus), and was dealt another "possible" concussion in game 2 of the Ottowa series. The prevailing thought on Connolly is to let him sit out. Nobody wants to see hockey's version of Kurt Warner out there.

Carolina will have to take advantage of the fact that Buffalo will be employing unseasoned blueliners or, in JPom's case, a guy who's having to make major adjustments.

Meanwhile, Carolina's Erik Cole continues to make progress towards a full recovery. While he most likely won't return to the ice until next season, he's out there practicing with the boys. That has to give them a little boost.

It will certainly be very interesting to see how Lindy Ruff fills his lines on Friday night. Puck drop will be at 7:30.