The defense corps is getting thin for the Buffalo Sabres as Toni Lydman may not be available for Thursday's game in Florida.

Lydman, who was struck by a shot in Monday's loss to Nashville, was unable to take part in practice today in HSBC Arena before the team flew to Fort Lauderdale. Captain Craig Rivet remains questionable with an upper-body ailment suffered Saturday in Montreal.

"Toni tried to skate before practice and it wasn't very good," said coach Lindy Ruff. "We're going to have to see how Craig is doing, so there's the possibility of bringing somebody up (from Portland of the AHL). Craig is on a limited basis, a no-contact basis. We've got him through practice but it depends on how his strength is."

Mike Weber would be first in line to get called up but Ruff said he's been having unspecified medical issues there as well. If he can't go, rookie Chris Butler could get his first NHL call or Mike Funk could get another chance.

Patrick Kaleta (neck) has been in a neck brace and won't make the trip. Derek Roy (back) and Andrew Peters (abdominal strain) both skated today.

Ruff also weighed in on the suspension of Dallas Stars forward Sean Avery, who was banished by the NHL for his inappropriate comments about his ex-girlfriends Tuesday morning in Calgary.

"Just looking at it from the outside, that was embarrassing for the league and I thought the league did the right thing in dealing with it," Ruff said. "We always talk to our players about how much pride they have to take in representing the Buffalo Sabres, the organization and themselves. I do it every year at the start of training camp ... We're in a unique situation here in that we're a lot closer to our fans than in a lot of cities. I want our fans and our young followers to be proud of the way our players handle themselves."