The Buffalo Sabres' goaltending situation has been dire enough lately without the addition of another potential injury.
Dustin Tokarski left practice a few minutes early Tuesday in KeyBank Center, with observers initially wondering if his heavy workload in recent games made him call it a day. But coach Don Granato confirmed Tokarski took a shot high off the mask late in the workout.
"We are evaluating right now," Granato said.
Dustin Tokarski has had several good moments this year, and was up to the task in Friday night's 4-1 win over abysmal Montreal. Still, the Sabres' goaltending situation is tenuous much of the time, and downright dire at others.
Goalies, of course, hate getting shots up high during practice and it's a constant worry of teams because of the chance of concussion issues if a puck strikes the head and vibrates a goalie's mask too much.
Tokarski has played in 10 of the Sabres' last 12 games and has started the last three. He is 4-5-3 with a 3.28 goals-against average and .903 save percentage for the season.
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Tokarski was at .920 after his 45-save performance produced a 2-1 win Nov. 16 in Pittsburgh, but in the six games since, he's just 1-2-1, 4.29/.873.
If a callup from Rochester is needed, Amerks starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has had an up-and-down year at 6-6, 3.42/.888. Rochester backup Michael Houser, who got his first two NHL wins in May, is on an AHL contract and would need to be signed. Houser is 2-0, 2.70/.896 since being promoted from Cincinnati of the ECHL.
Mittelstadt looking good for return
Casey Mittelstadt and Mark Jankowski were on forward lines at Tuesday's practice, making it likely they will play in Thursday's game at Florida.
Tuch shined on Monday as he joined his teammates on the ice for the first time, taking part in their morning skate in a non-contact role prior to the game against Seattle.
It would be the Buffalo debut for Jankowski, signed to an NHL contract Sunday after spending the first two months in Rochester, and a return to the lineup for Mittelstadt after he suffered an upper-body injury in the season opener.
Mittelstadt centered Rasmus Asplund and Zemgus Girgensons while Jankowski joined Vinnie Hinostroza as wingers with Cody Eakin. Anders Bjork and John Hayden were displaced as extras.
"We tried to get him as much pace and compete in some battles as we could today," Granato said of Mittelstadt. "Obviously, we play a lot of games so practice couldn't be too long a taxing duration as a result, but he got something so it's definitely progress for him."
"We're all super excited to get 'Mitts' back in the lineup," said center Dylan Cozens. "He's been a big missing piece for us so far this season. We all know what he can do. He's an unbelievable player. He's going to be huge for us."
Likely to bring Mittelstadt on to the roster off injured reserve, the Sabres placed defenseman Christian Wolanin on waivers. He has played in just one game since being claimed from Los Angeles during training camp.
Off to the Sunshine State
The Sabres left immediately after practice Tuesday for Florida and will work out Wednesday at FLA Live Arena, the newly named home of the Panthers. After Thursday's game there, Buffalo plays Saturday at Carolina. Granato said defenseman Jacob Bryson, who did not play Monday, was held out of practice as a precaution and should be on the ice for Wednesday's workout.
Because of the pandemic and last season's NHL realignment, Buffalo hasn't visited the Sunshine State since splitting games at Florida and Tampa Bay on Nov. 24-25, 2019.
The first 10,000-plus crowd
The official game sheet distributed to the media after Monday's game did not include an attendance figure but that was clearly an oversight as the official NHL box score showed a season-high ticket count of 10,004 for the first visit to Buffalo by the Seattle Kraken and the annual Hockey Fights Cancer Night.
The Sabres are last in the NHL by far in average attendance at 8,344 per game and are playing at just 43.8% of capacity. Only Ottawa (11,352/59.3%) is less than 12,000 a game or 70%.
The Sabres averaged just 7,910 through their first 10 home games but are at 9,793 over their last three, likely the impact of the Thanksgiving holiday as well as tickets distributed through blood drives and turkey donations. The club's decade of futility and a monstrous drop of season tickets to around 6,500 are the main reasons for the overall decline.
But the closure of the Canadian border, followed by implementation of return testing requirements, remains a major factor as well. Both visits by Montreal, as well as the lone visits of the season by Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary, were played with those restrictions in place and severely limited the crowds coming over the border.
There wasn't much to like Monday night in KeyBank Center as the expansion Seattle Kraken dumped the Buffalo Sabres for the second time this season.
Around the boards
• Cozens on scooping up the puck and presenting it to Brett Murray after the winger scored his first NHL goal Monday: "That's exciting. I was very excited for him. I know how excited I was when I scored my first goal. I know he had some family here for that. So it's awesome for him. To be on the ice and be part of a guy's first goal is awesome, so I wanted to get that puck for him right away."
• The Kraken became the 43rd NHL team the Sabres have played in Buffalo since joining the league in 1970. By calling the broadcast on MSG, retiring broadcaster Rick Jeanneret has been at the mic for at least one game with every opponent.
• The Sabres fell to 13-5-1 in their first home game against an expansion team since 1970. They have lost three straight, to Columbus (2000), Vegas (2017) and Seattle. Their last win over a first-year club at home was against Minnesota in 2000.
