Buffalo Sabres center Jiri Kulich will miss "significant time" with a blood clot, coach Lindy Ruff said Monday.

The 21-year-old, who is entering his second full season, was anchoring the Sabres' top line, but Kulich has missed his team's past three games. His most recent appearance came Nov. 1 against the Washington Capitals when he had only 11:19 of ice time.

Kulich has scored three goals and has five points in 12 games while averaging 16:21 in ice time this season.

"It's related to a blood clot that was found," Ruff told reporters after practice. "I'm not going to go any further into detail, but pretty serious."

Ruff said that he does expect Kulich to play again this season while noting that a timeline "depends on how things go here in the next three or four weeks."

Losing Kuli

See Full Page