BUFFALO — Defensemen Tim Heed will play Tuesday when the Sharks face the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center. But his spot in the lineup for the remainder of the Sharks’ five-game road trip and beyond seems anything but guaranteed.
Heed will start on the third defense pair with Mario Ferraro, as the Sharks look for just their third-ever regular season win in Buffalo. The Sabres are 18-2-1 all-time at home against San Jose.
But with injured defensemen Dalton Prout and Radim Simek both getting closer to a return, and Trevor Carrick also on the trip, Heed, 28, may be running out of time to establish himself as an every-game type of player in the NHL.