Sabres goaltender to miss time with lower-body injury The Buffalo Sabres have placed goaltender Eric Comrie on injured reserve.
General manager Kevyn Adams said that the netminder is likely going to miss a few weeks with a lower-body injury.
Comrie’s injury has coincided with an injury to promising rookie goalie Devon Levi, leaving Buffalo without their top two options.
The team has turned towards Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devin Cooley in their absence.
Luukkonen has recorded a 1-1 record in two starts as the team’s newfound starter, setting a
881 save percentage and 4.
83 goals-against-average.
Cooley has yet to find his place in the starting grid, but he will make his NHL debut whenever the opportunity arises.
Cooley is an undrafted free agent who served as Yaroslav Askarov’s backup for the Milwaukee Admirals last season.
He posted a
909 save percentage in 26 games during the year—his second full season in the AHL.
Now in the Sabers system, Cooley has appeared in four games for the Rochester Americans this season, winning all four with a
903 save percentage.
Buffalo will certainly anticipate the return of Levi, who has posted an
892 save percentage and a 1-3-0 record in four games this season.
That quartet of games puts him in just 11 career NHL games between this and last season.
He had a
901 save percentage in those 11 games and was expected to begin the season as the undisputed starter.
But Levi, 21, faces stiff competition in Comrie, who has played three games and posted a
914 save percentage so far this season.
Levi, who is said to be day-to-day injured, will have a clear route back to the currently sidelined Comrie.
But how the fighting duo begins when they are both fully healthy will be interesting to see.
Either Buffalo will continue under the hot hand of Comrie, who has lost twice despite solid stats, or they will give strength to the young and promising Levi.
Regardless, the Sabers are sure to have better days when these injuries heal.
