Ullmark returns to practice while Hutton undergoes further evaluations

Linus Ullmark returned to practice with the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, marking a step forward in the goaltender's recovery from a lower-body injury that has forced him to miss the past 12 games.
Sabres interim coach Don Granato said he expects Ullmark to need more days of practice before a decision can be made on a potential return to the lineup. The team is also without goaltender Carter Hutton, who traveled back to Buffalo for further evaluation after sustaining an injury on Monday.

Granato did not rule out the possibility of Ullmark starting at some point on the Sabres' current road trip, which continues with back-to-back games in Pittsburgh on Wednesday and Thursday and concludes in Boston on Saturday afternoon.
"You can't rule anything out, I would say," Granato said. "The next couple days we'll be looking at the potential of that. Certainly, we want him back as soon as we can, and I think Linus wants to be back as soon as we can, but the information's not there yet to know the date on that."

Granato said the current plan is for the Sabres to move forward with the two healthy goaltenders on their active roster, Dustin Tokarski and Michael Houser. Tokarski entered in relief of Hutton against the Rangers, his first NHL action since October 2016, and stopped 33 of 37 shots in 56:23.
The team signed Houser to a one-year contract last Friday, one day prior to acquiring a sixth-round pick from Colorado in exchange for goaltender Jonas Johansson. The 28-year-old spent the beginning of the season in Rochester but did not appear in a game.
Houser has spent the past two seasons with Buffalo's ECHL affiliate, the Cincinnati Cyclones, for whom he posted a .922 save percentage in 41 contests in 2019-20. He has never appeared in an NHL game.
Ullmark went 5-4-2 with a .919 save percentage in 12 starts prior to sustaining his injury against the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 25. He echoed Granato in saying that his readiness will be a day-to-day evaluation as he continues to skate with the team.
"I felt all right," Ullmark said. "First real session back so it was exciting. It was fun to be around the boys once again."
Ullmark said he used the recovery time to recalibrate mentally following an adverse start to the season, which included the passing of his father in Sweden in January.
"There's been going on a whole lot of stuff with this season that's been out of my control that's been way harder on me emotionally and mentally," he said. "It sucks that I got injured as well but for some reason, I kind of found some solitude and peace when I actually got injured.
"Just kind of go back into myself, just have to figure out what the next step is, and then I had a clear goal that I just had to get back to playing again. So, it was easy to set a goal and then just kind of take it day by day and try to have a smile on my face."

Injury report

Granato also announced that forward Tobias Rieder and defenseman Colin Miller are day to day due to injuries. The coach expressed optimism that Miller could play Wednesday.
"That's the hope," he said. "Tobi, maybe, is more of a question mark for tomorrow in that regard."
The Sabres expect to be without forward Kyle Okposo for the remainder of the road trip due to an upper-body injury he sustained during practice on Sunday. Granato said Okposo could be ready to return to the lineup when the team plays at home next week.