Sabres takeaways: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen holds off Flames in shootout win
The Sabres have won three in a row twice through 15 games, and the latest streak helped them rally from the bottom of the standings.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen skated to the top of his crease Saturday afternoon in KeyBank Center, his eyes fixated on the puck as Calgary Flames winger Justin Kirkland stickhandled toward the Sabres’ net.
Shootouts aren’t part of Luukkonen’s typical practice routine. And, as the 25-year-old acknowledged after the 3-2 win over Calgary that brought Buffalo back to .500, he’s struggled in the one-on-one situations since arriving in the NHL.
Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen celebrates his final save in the shootout period to hold on for the win Saturday. Derek Gee, Buffalo News
Kirkland skated down the left side of the ice and cut across the slot, where he held the puck for a few seconds to try to draw Luukkonen out of position. The Sabres’ starting goalie didn’t take the bait. Luukkonen kept his posture upright after dropping into a butterfly stance, taking away the top of the net and forcing Kirkland to shoot low.
Luukkonen made the save, conjuring a collective roar from the 16,442 fans in attendance and sending the Sabres (7-7-1) to their third consecutive win. He also helped them kill the Flames’ 4-on-3 power play late in overtime by stopping Nazem Kadri’s backhand shot from in tight with 11 seconds remaining.
“I’ve talked about it a lot that I want to be part of the solution here,” Luukkonen said after making 26 saves between regulation and overtime, then denying the Flames in each of the three shootout rounds. “I want to be one of the parts that can help the team win and lately it’s been like that. I want to keep going.”
The Sabres have won three in a row twice through 15 games, and the latest streak helped them rally from the bottom of the standings. A victory Monday over Montreal will give Buffalo its first four-game win streak in 20 months. But the impressive week, during which it outscored the Senators and Rangers by a combined score of 11-3, could have been spoiled if it weren’t for Luukkonen cleaning up the team’s mistakes in a ugly third period against the Flames (7-6-3).
Zach Benson and Tage Thompson scored a goal apiece in the first period to put the Sabres in control early, and they had several opportunities to add to their lead. Their power play almost scored again in the second period, with Thompson and Dylan Cozens forcing Vladar to make challenging saves.
Matt Coronato cut the lead to 2-1 late in the middle frame and Mikael Backlund tied it 2-2 when the Flames captain scored with 4:18 left in regulation.
Calgary outshot Buffalo 12-4 during the third period and, according to Natural Stat Trick, generated five high-danger scoring chances at 5-on-5. The Sabres struggled to break through the neutral zone after the Flames decided to clog it to neutralize their speed.
The Flames had a 4-on-3 power play for the final 1:20 of overtime, but Connor Clifton blocked a shot, and Luukkonen made the lead-preserving save on Kadri.
“He’s played very well,” Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said of Luukkonen, who has a .947 save percentage over his last four starts. “The team play has been better, and his play has been better. He’s really made key saves. You look at that overtime save he made for us; it allows you to get the extra point in the game.”
JJ Peterka used a low shot to score on Flames goalie Dan Vladar in the second shootout round, and Luukkonen stopped each of the three shooters that he faced. Luukkonen had a .556 save percentage in six career shootouts, stopping only 10 of 18 shots, but he looked as poised in the extra time Saturday as at any point this season.
His latest series of clutch saves occurred five days after Ruff told reporters that Buffalo needed more from Luukkonen and Devon Levi in key moments of games. And, for the Sabres to continue to string wins together, they’re going to need their top goalie to perform like he did during another important week for a club that has playoff aspirations.
Luukkonen has emerged as a No. 1 goalie, appearing in 46 of Buffalo's 56 games dating to Jan. 11, 2023. No one in the NHL has played more during that span, and his .910 save percentage with six wins in 11 appearances this season shows that what he did in 2023-24 wasn't a fluke.
“I feel like as a team we’ve been playing really good hockey and that helps me, of course,” Luukkonen said. “I always talk about it’s nice to play a lot of games and I think that’s been paying off for me, too. Being able to take what I learned at the end of last season and take it to this season. Just overall I feel like the confidence is high in our game and the confidence in my game is high, too. That’s a good point to be at as a goalie.”
Sabres center Tage Thompson tries to control a bouncing puck against Flames defenseman Brayden Pachal during Saturday's game at KeyBank Center. Derek Gee, Buffalo News
Here are other takeaways from the game:
1. Career high
Ruff decided to lean on Bowen Byram and Rasmus Dahlin because a few of the Sabres defensemen were struggling against Calgary.Byram skated a career-high 32:24, which is the most ice time by an NHL skater in a game this season. He’s the sixth player in Sabres history to log 32 or more minutes in a game. No one had reached that mark for Buffalo since Rasmus Ristolainen played 32:39 on Feb. 6, 2018.
“He’s got a good engine,” Ruff said of Byram. “He can play a lot of minutes. He’s a great skater. He recovers fast. That’s the only way a guy can play that (number) of minutes.”
2. Uncomfortable
The Sabres have corrected their bad habit of starting games poorly.They have scored first in 11 of 15 games this season after ranking near the bottom of the league last season. Benson gave them a 1-0 lead only 1:11 into the game when the winger backhanded the puck past Vladar after Jacob Bryson’s shot from the point left the puck lying in the slot.
There were a series of unfortunate events once they were leading 2-0, though. Coronato’s goal occurred while Dennis Gilbert was tangled with Kirkland in the neutral zone. Peterka lost his stick shortly before Backlund tied the score. The Sabres were called for too many men in overtime because Dahlin touched the puck before Byram reached the bench.
Buffalo overcame the adversity with a power play that scored, a penalty kill that went 3-for-3 and team defense that blocked 19 shots.
“When you get on a roll, you want to stay on a roll,” said Ruff. “You want to find ways to win hockey games.”
3. Stepping up
Thompson’s 139 goals in 346 games with the Sabres are as many as Jack Eichel scored in his 375 games with the team.Hard to believe, right? Thompson has been one of the best in the NHL this season, and we haven’t seen a Sabres skater have this strong a start since the playoff drought began.
His 10 goals were only one behind Sam Reinhart and Nikita Kucherov for the league lead Saturday afternoon. Thompson also has a team-leading 17 points in 15 games, and he’s helped the power play rebound. The Sabres are 6-for-24 on the man-advantage since Oct. 26, ranking fifth in the NHL during that span.
4. Rare air
The start of the season didn’t go the way Dahlin planned.He missed most of training camp with a middle-body injury and started slower than previous years, but he’s been one of the Sabres’ best players in recent weeks. His assist in the first period, a quick shovel pass to set up Thompson on the power play to make it 2-0, moved Dahlin into sole possession of third among defensemen in franchise history. His 235 assists are 21 fewer than Mike Ramsey and 145 fewer than Phil Housley.
Dahlin has nine points in his last seven games and extended his point streak to three games. He had three shots on goal and seven shot attempts in 28:28 of ice time against Calgary.