Maple Leafs call up two goalies as Andersen put on IR, Sparks also hurting
The health of both Maple Leafs goalies is suddenly in doubt.
The club moved Frederik Andersen to injured reserve on Thursday morning with his lingering groin issue, retroactive to Dec. 23rd, and announced Garret Sparks was being evaluated for a concussion after taking a shot off the mask in Wednesday’s practice.
That necessitated the rare move of summoning both netminders, Michael Hutchinson and Kasimir Kaskisuo, from the AHL Marlies on emergency recall.
One of them, likely newly acquired NHL veteran Hutchinson, will start this afternoon’s 2 p.m. ‘Next Generation Game’ at Scotiabank Arena against the Minnesota Wild.
Andersen has been on the ice the past three days, though working on his own. Sparks was in line for his fourth straight start on Thursday, with an overall record of 6-2-1. Andersen, a 20-game winner already, was often referred to by teammates as their first-half MVP.
