The Buffalo Sabres held a morning skate on Friday before the first of a back-to-back home-and-home with the Toronto Maple Leafs at KeyBank Center. There was good news all around, as Jason Zucker was on the ice and participated fully after leaving the 4-2 victory over Detroit on Wednesday, and goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, defenseman Michael Kesselring, and forward Jordan Greenway took part.
Zucker scored his club-leading fourth goal of the season in the win over the Wings and left the ice favoring his left arm in the second period and did not return, but did not appear hampered at practice. Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said he spoke to the veteran winger and said he was good to go for the division matchup.
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Luukkonen, who won a conditioning stint in Rochester on Wednesday, was recalled on Thursday and worked alongside rookie Colten Ellis at the visiting side of the ice, while Alex Lyon was at the starter’s end. Ruff indicated that the club plans to carry three goalies, but did not provide any time frame.
“We’ve got three goalies, we are going to layout a plan for the next three games.”(The home-and-home with the Leafs, and against Columbus on Tuesday). Ruff said. “It is good problem. We’ve got a young guy that stepped in and played a good game for us, and Lyon has played well. I think the question is ‘will UPL stay healthy?’ We can’t answer that. We’ve gotta stay in a place where we’re protecting ourselves.”
The fact that the club recalled Luukkonen after one start would indicate that he is close to returning, and could in fact start the second of the back-to-backs in Toronto on Saturday,
Kesselring, who has skated separate from the group since suffering a still-unspecified injury late in the preseason, is close but Ruff indicated that it may be next week before he returns, Greenway has been a regular participant at practice the last two weeks in his recovery from surgery for a mid-body injury, but there is no specific time frame for his return.
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