Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock downplayed Frederik Andersen's injury on Thursday, despite the team recalling Garret Sparks from the AHL on an emergency basis.

"I don't think there's much going on there," Babcock said of Andersen. "He wasn't going to play tonight anyway."

Andersen left Wednesday's game against the Dallas Stars in the second period with an upper-body injury. Babcock said after Wednesday's shootout victory he believes Andersen was injured on a first-period collision with Alexander Radulov, who fell on the Leafs goaltender.

"It sure didn't seem like much," Babcock said regarding the injury.

The Leafs had already planned for Curtis McElhinney to get the start against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday in the second half of a back-to-back situation. Sparks will serve as the team's backup after his recall from the Toronto Marlies.

The 24-year-old Sparks has a 24-8-1 record in the AHL this season with a .936 save percentage and a 1.78 goals-against average.

He appeared in 17 games with the Maple Leafs during the 2015-16 season, posting a 6-9-3 record with a .893 save percentage.

McElhinney stopped 13 of 15 shots against the Stars help the Leafs to a 6-5 win in the shootout on a winner from Mitch Marner.

Babcock added that after making his NHL debut on Wednesday, AHL call-up Andreas Johnsson will sit Thursday's game as Matt Martin re-enters the lineup.

Martin, who played on March 5 after an 18-game stretch as a healthy scratch, has three goals and 12 points in 49 games this season.