Sabres goalie had started 10 of the last 11 games, Eric Comrie expected to start against Florida

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen since being made the Buffalo Sabres starter in early January has been arguably the best goaltender in the NHL, posting his fourth shutout of the season on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Kings. The 24-year-old was slated to make his fifth straight start against the Florida Panthers on Thursday, but Luukkonen suffered a lower-body injury at some point during the club's morning skate at Key Bank Center.

The Sabres recalled veteran goalie Dustin Tokarski from the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League and it is expected that backup Eric Comrie will get the start against Florida. Comrie, who has a 1-5-0 record, 4.01 GAA, and .863 save % was recalled last month when rookie Devon Levi was sent to the AHL and has not made an NHL start since December 5 against Detroit but did play well with the Amerks after being sent down in December (3-1-0, 2.26 GAA, .934 save %) 

The 34-year-old Tokarski played more than half of his 80 NHL games with the Sabres from 2020 to 2022 and was signed to a one-year contract last summer after playing one season with Pittsburgh. He has played 16 games in Rochester, posting a 7-7-2 record, 3.47 GAA, and a .888 save percentage. 

Preliminary indications are that Luukkonen's injury is not serious. If it had been, the Sabres would likely have recalled Levi, who split duties with Luukkonen until last month. 

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