“Optimism” is too strong a word for this, but I’ll grasp at a few straws...
Though they aren’t enormous game-changers, many of the injured players are an upgrade from the ones who are currently in the lineup. Josefson was looking like a productive bottom 6 guy, I’m interested in what Rodrigues is capable of (who knows? Maybe he’ll get a shift with Eichel some day), Bailey has moments of looking like he belongs in the NHL... on defense, Bogosian and Ristolainen are better than (pick anyone other than Scandella and insert name here). Of course, this assumes the injured guys ever come back.
The other positive is that there are people playing prominent roles in Rochester (CJ Smith, Guhle, Ullmark, Fasching) who aren’t being rushed up to be the savior in Buffalo, which will hopefully be beneficial long-term.