“I saw his face and saw the pain he was in, then saw the replay,” linemate Sam Reinhart said. “It was pretty scary, but we’re just hoping for the best.”

The health of Kane was of immediate concern to the Sabres, but those outside the room could take a wider view of the situation. Four of Buffalo’s top players are out of the lineup, with Eichel absent for up to two months and Kane’s status certainly not looking good.

“There’s a little bit of shake your head and snake-bitten,” coach Dan Bylsma said. “It’s kind of come in droves, but it’s part of our game and part of playing.

“You know you’re going to have injuries. You expect to have them throughout your lineup. Unfortunately, you have a rash of them, but that’s no excuse for how we need to play, how we can play. We’ve got to keep fighting through it.”

They seem to be fighting a losing battle. Buffalo narrowly avoided another injury at the end when Montreal's Andrew Shaw slew-footed Johan Larsson and got an match penalty.

“It’s not like we’re the only team going through it,” Reinhart said. “It’s just tough that it seems we’re going through it more and more.”