BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen reaggravated a lower-body injury in the first period of Wednesday's preseason game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
At the start of the second period, Luukkonen was not back on the ice with his teammates or on the bench and was immediately ruled out for the remainder of the game. This was supposed to be the Sabres goaltenders first real test of preseason ahead of their season opening game next Thursday against the New York Rangers.
"After he made the first couple saves he didn't feel quite right, so we took him out as a precaution and we'll see where he's at tomorrow," Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said after the game. "We didn't want to really risk anything."
Luukkonen had missed the first week of training camp with a lingering lower-body injury and Wednesday was his first preseason game. During the first period, Luukkonen stopped 11 of 12 shots faced.
While we don't know the severity of the injury, this casts serious doubt if he'll be available for the start of the season.
The Sabres currently have two other goaltenders on their roster. Alex Lyon, who signed as a free-agent in the summer was slated to be the Sabres primary backup. Alexandar Georgiev, who is also an NHL veteran, signed with the team last month.
If Luukkonen is unavailable, expect Lyon and Georgiev to be the two goaltenders in Buffalo to start the season.
