The Nashville Predators will not have star goaltender Juuse Saros for the last two games of the regular season, ruling him out Wednesday with a lower-body injury. Connor Ingram has been recalled to take his spot for the next few days, though it is not clear yet if Saros will be ready for the start of the postseason.
The 27-year-old, who has played in more games this season than any other netminder, left Tuesday night’s game against the Calgary Flames in the third period after sustaining what appeared to be an injury to his left leg. There was no update given (and likely none forthcoming) from head coach John Hynes after the game, but if he misses any extended length of time, the Predators would obviously be in trouble.
With 67 appearances, Saros has been incredibly important to a Predators team that is still jockeying for position in the Western Conference playoff race. Two games remain and they are currently tied with the Dallas Stars in the wild-card chase, meaning they’ll play either the Colorado Avalanche or Calgary Flames in round one, depending on how the next two games go.
Given how much responsibility Saros has received, it’s hard to fathom the Predators competing without him. David Rittich, the normal backup, has posted an .883 save percentage in 16 appearances, only 11 of them starts. Ingram, the third-string option, has a .906 save percentage in two career NHL games. While improbable goaltending stories seem to happen every year, filling Saros’ pads would be an extremely difficult ask for either one.
Hopefully, at least for Nashville’s sake, the next week is enough rest to get him back into the net. The team will finish their regular season schedule on Friday.
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