Sheet Player News (Dec. 8)

Not long after returning to the ice with a full cage over his face, Sabres forward Nathan Gerbe left the game against the Flyers on Wednesday night after being checked from behind by Marc-Andre Bourdon.  The diminutive forward was able to leave under his own power, which was a definite positive, but having to leave the game under these circumstances has to be disheartening.  Gerbe missed a couple of games after taking a teammate's skate blade to the face, cutting his nose and lip, hence the full cage.  Gerbe has 12 points in 26 games for the Sabres this season, just short of being pool worthy this year.

The upper-body injury that Senators defenseman Filip Kuba has been placed on the Injured Reserve on Wednesday with what is described to be a shoulder injury, which is expected to keep him out of the line-up for about 3-to-4 weeks.  Very disappointing news for the Senators, losing one of their more dependable defenders.  Kuba's offensive numbers have dropped off in recent years, but that hasn't made him any less dependable, as he currently stands 72nd in scoring among defenders with 8 points in 24 games, which is still good enough to be drafted, but he was skipped over this year.