Reinhart, 18, was the second overall pick in this summer's draft. He had one assist in nine games with the Sabres and with Buffalo going no where this year, it is probably best for Reinhart's development to go back to juniors. Reinhart had 36 goals and 69 assists (105 points) in 60 games with Kootenay last season.
Marchand left practice early on Wednesday after he "tweaked something". He will be game-time decision tonight so we will find out if he is in during warmups. If he is out, Matt Fraser will play.
Ekblad has played in seven games and has two more games left before the Panthers have to decide whether or not to burn the first year of his entry level contract and keep him or send him back to juniors. "Unless he really collapses, I don't see him going anywhere," Panthers general manager Dale Tallontold NHL.com. "I've been very impressed with his composure and maturity. Once the regular season started, he was a different guy." Ekblad has averaged 21:54 TOI (2:22 PP TOI/GP) and recorded two assists with a minus-1 rating so far.
Marchand left practice early this morning after "tweaking something" head coach Claude Julien said. Coach Julien added that he hopes that he will be ready to go on Thursday, but Matt Fraser will enter the lineup if Marchand is unavailable. Marchand had been bumped down to the third line with Carl Soderberg and Loui Eriksson in the start of practice.
After Thursday's game vs. the Bruins, the Sabres will need to make the decision on whether or not to keep Reinhart with the team and burn the first year of his entry level contract or send him back to juniors. For Reinhart's development sake it is probably best for him to go back to juniors and with the Sabres playing as poorly as they are, that seems like a no brainer.
Gudas missed the last four games with a lower-body injury he suffered on October 13. With Luke Witkowski going back to the AHL it is a guarantee that Gudas will be back in the lineup on Friday. He will skate on the second pair with Jason Garrison.
After getting back into the lineup last night, Reinhart will be back in the pressbox tonight for the second time in three games. However, Reinhart will be back in the lineup on Saturday against the Sharks. With Reinhart coming out of the lineup, the Sabres will put Nikita Zadorov in the lineup and go with seven defensemen.
Gudas, who was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday, has missed the last four games with the lower-body injury that he suffered 10 days ago. He is eligible to return to the lineup whenever he is healthy and it looks as if that might be tomorrow in Winnipeg.
Brian Flynn stayed on for extra work at the Sabres morning skate which means that Reinhart will get back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch on Saturday. He will centre the fourth line which means he will probably see less than 10 minutes of ice-time for the third straight game.
Gudas has been out since October 13 and will miss his fourth straight game tonight. He was moved to IR to make room for the Lightning to recall Mike Blunden. He is eligible to be activated from IR whenever he is healthy.
Gudas will miss his third straight game tonight in Edmonton. The Lightning just lost Victor Hedman to a fractured finger so their blueline is pretty banged up right now. Gudas is expected to miss Tuesday's game as well, but could be back on Friday vs. the Jets.
Reinhart was a healthy scratch on Saturday, but is still eligible to play in four more games before the first-year of his entry level contract is burned. He has no points and a minus-1 rating in five games and is not going to produce as long as the Sabres have him playing on the fourth line. It looks inevitable that he will be sent back to juniors.
Gudas missed Tuesday's game, and will not play tonight against the Canucks, due to a lower-body injury that he said has nagged him since training camp. It got "really worse" Monday, but has gotten better throughout the week. Gudas said he hopes to practice with the Lightning Sunday in Edmonton and, if all goes well, play Monday.
Reinhart was moved to the fourth line for the last couple games and is now a healthy scratch which pretty much confirms that he will be going back to juniors soon. Brian Flynn will draw into the lineup.
Gudas is not on the ice for warmups so he will not play tonight. He will be replaced by Andrej Sustr. No word if he is dealing with an injury or just being rested.
Bennett will likely miss 4-6 months and be returned to juniors and be back in Calgary for training camp next season.
Reinhart has no points, two shots and a minus-1 rating while averaging 12:47 TOI in his first three NHL games. The Sabres can keep him up for nine-games without burning a year of his entry level contract, so going to the fourth line seems like he is destined to be returned to juniors after the nine-game stint.
This summer's fourth overall pick is expected to make a full recovery, but will have to wait until next season to crack the Flames roster. This injury also means that Bennett will not be able to participate in the IIHF World Junior Championships starting on Boxing Day. Bennett has a bright NHL future ahead of him and he will be back in Flames camp next fall.
Reinhart, 18, was the second overall pick in this summer's draft. He will start his NHL career on the Sabres' second line with Cody Hodgson and Brian Gionta. "They're obviously very smart players and good players," Reinhart said of his linemates. "I feel if I move the puck to them and get myself open, we're going to create a lot of chances. I feel comfortable on that line."
Bennett, 18, who was the Flames first round pick (4th overall) this summer is still with the Flames, but as a non-roster injured player with shoulder surgery looming. It is believed that surgery is a strong possibility, but we won't know until Wednesday. He was limited to three pre-season games and missed parts of main camp because of a groin injury coming out of rookie camp, which was followed by his shoulder troubles.
