Nashville Predators goalie Juuse Saros left Tuesday night’s 5-4 loss to the Calgary Flames in the third period with an apparent left foot injury.
Saros went to the Predators bench after an interference penalty on Flames defenseman Oliver Kylington stopped play with 6:32 remaining in regulation. Nashville’s trainer looked at Saros’s ankle, and the goalie left the ice without putting any weight on his left foot. He limped to the locker room with his arms draped around members of the training staff.
Goalie David Rittich replaced Saros and gave up a game-tying goal to Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk with 1 second remaining in the period. Had the Predators defeated the Flames in regulation, they would have clinched a playoff spot.
Rittich surrendered the game-winning goal to Elias Lindholm in overtime.
Saros has been one of the NHL’s top goalies this season. He has a 38-25-3 record in 67 starts, the most for any goalie in the league. Entering Tuesday, Saros had a .918 save percentage and four shutouts and was fourth among goalies with 31.6 goals saved above average.
