Shortly before Tuesday’s opening faceoff, the Buffalo Sabres pulled center Josh Norris from the lineup after he skated in the pregame warm-up.
What happened?
Coach Lindy Ruff told reporters in Edmonton following the Sabres’ 4-3 overtime win that the oft-injured Norris, who felt ill, tweaked something warming up.
At that point, the Sabres yanked Norris, who had played four straight games after an upper-body injury he suffered opening night sidelined him 24 contests.
“It’s a combination of illness and soreness, so we’ll have to see how that goes,” Ruff said after the Sabres ended their three-game losing streak by defeating the Oilers for the second time this season.
Ruff said Norris’ soreness isn’t connected to his previous injury. Forward Josh Dunne replaced him.
After the game started, the Sabres lost their starting goalie, Colten Ellis, when Oilers winger David Tomasek drove to the net and hit him in the head.
Ellis briefly stayed in the game before a concussion spotter forced him to leave late in the first period. Ruff said Ellis entered concussion protocol.
When Alex Lyon replaced the rookie, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, a scratch against the Oilers after getting pulled from Monday’s 7-4 loss to the Calgary Flames, dressed as the emergency goalie.
“All these questions about three goalies, our other one was dressed in the back, ready to go out if something happened to Lyon,” Ruff said.
Lyon stopped 21 of the 24 shots he faced. The Sabres blew a 3-0 lead in the third period before winger Alex Tuch scored 33 seconds into overtime.
The Sabres also played without winger Jason Zucker, who suffered a lower-body injury Monday and has been placed on injured reserve.