BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made an early exit during the team’s final home preseason game against the Pittsburgh Penguins Wednesday night.
This comes as the Sabres’ top netminder spent a significant amount of time off the ice through camps, but head coach Lindy Ruff is hopeful this is not a reactivation of that specific lower-body injury.
As it stands, offseason acquisitions Alex Lyon and Alexandar Georgiev will be pushing each other trying to earn that top spot on the roster, seeing plenty of time on the ice between now and the home opener on Oct. 9.
“You don’t have 300 games in the NHL for no reason,” Lyon spoke of his teammate, Georgiev. “He’s been around a lot and seen a lot of different situations and he’s an extremely talented goalie. UPL is extremely talented goalie. At the end of the day, really your job doesn’t change. And for me, it’s six or seven years of the same thing of, if you show up and bring your best on a daily basis, that everything else will take care of itself.”
Luukkonen is listed as day-to-day right now. Joining him is new defenseman Michael Kesselring. Other news on the blue line includes Mattias Samuelsson looking to be ahead of schedule for his recovery.
Other notable injuries listed include defensemen Bowen Byram and Owen Power. Forward Zach Benson is also on the list, but expected to back to practice soon.