Buffalo Sabres: Ullmark’s injury opens opportunity for Jonas Johansson
With Linus Ullmark set to miss three to four weeks with a leg injury, the Buffalo Sabres should give Jonas Johansson a chance to show what he can do.
Tuesday’s loss to the Buffalo Sabres was a tough one for the team in more ways than one.
Linus Ullmark was forced to leave the game after his skate slipped from under him as his knee bent in a way it shouldn’t have. Now we know that the injury will keep Ullmark out for the next three to four weeks.
The Sabres’ goaltending situation has had its ups and downs this season especially Carter Hutton who has struggled mightily since winning his first six starts of the season. Hutton has not won a start in 11 games with his last victory coming on Oct. 22nd, we’re at the end of January now.
Jonas Johansson was recalled from Rochester and will likely assume the backup role behind Hutton but the Sabres should consider giving him some games. Considering the Sabres are 10 points out of the playoffs, a deficit that will be tough to overcome, they could use this time as an audition for Johansson.
The 24-year-old will be an RFA at the end of the season along with Ullmark with Hutton still signed for another season at $2.75 million. The team needs to find a solution to their goaltending which hasn’t been good enough when you consider how much its been a problem the past few seasons.
While Johansson has not played in an NHL game yet, he has been hitting his stride in the AHL considering he has a 2.19 GAA and a .925 save percentage. It’s tough to ignore that production considering he has made improvements after a rough start to his transition to North America.
Since the Sabres will play the next nine of 10 games at home, this would be an opportunity for Buffalo to make a push to see where they stand before the trade deadline otherwise it very well could be another lost season.
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Do you think the Sabres should give Johansson the bulk of the starts with Ullmark out or ease him into the lineup? Let us know in the comments below.