Sportsnaut
Buffalo Sabres backup goalie Carter Hutton was sent home for further evaluation on the lower-body injury he suffered in Monday night’s game, interim coach Don Granato said Tuesday.
Dustin Tokarski will make his first start in goal in more than five years when the Sabres visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.
The good news for the Sabres is that starter Linus Ullmark returned to practice Tuesday after sustaining a lower-body injury that put Hutton in net. Granato said he wouldn’t rule out Ullmark’s return on the team’s current road trip, which ends Saturday in Boston. Ullmark has missed 12 games.
Hutton made the trip to Pittsburgh with the team before the decision was made to send him back to Buffalo.
Hutton exited Monday road game against the New York Rangers after injuring his left leg in a collision less than three minutes into the first period.
With 17:07 remaining, New York’s Julien Gauthier crashed the net on a rush as he was pursued by Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. Hutton came out of the crease to position himself for a save, and Ristolainen pushed Gauthier into Hutton, who fell to the ice behind the net.
After being checked out, Hutton limped off the ice to the locker room and was replaced by Tokarski, whose last NHL appearance had been Oct. 28, 2016, for the Anaheim Ducks.
Hutton made two saves before getting injured.
Hutton owns a 1-10-1 record and a 3.47 goals-against average in 13 games.
–Field Level Media
