Postgame Report | Luukkonen's 41 saves propel Sabres to 4th straight win

LAS VEGAS -Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen opened the Sabres' trip out west last Thursday with a career-best 39 saves in Colorado. He was even more prolific to close it.
Luukkonen established a new career high with 41 saves for the Sabres in a 3-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights inside T-Mobile Arena on Monday. The win was Buffalo's fourth in a row and completed a sweep of the three-game trip that previously ran through Colorado and Arizona.
The 23-year-old goaltender kept the game scoreless in the first period, allowing the Sabres to surge ahead with goals from Jeff Skinner, Tage Thompson, and Lawrence Pilut in the second. He was the backbone of a resilient effort when the Golden Knights pushed with 23 shots in the third.
"He won the game for us," Thompson said. "He stood on his head all night."

The Golden Knights generated 10 high-danger scoring chances, according to Natural Stat Trick. Luukkonen's long list of highlight-reel saves included a breakaway from Mark Stone late in the second period and a penalty shot for Jonathan Marchessault in the third.
Don Granato got the sense Luukkonen was locked in right at the outset, beginning when Luukkonen calmly gloved a shot from distance in the opening minute. Granato's belief was reaffirmed by Luukkonen's body language once Chandler Stephenson finally scored for Vegas in the third.
"On the bench as a coach, you're looking at the first moment of real adversity, a goal against, what's the posture?" Granato said. "… With Upie, he didn't change at all. He was right back on task as was the rest of the group."

Luukkonen made the task look easy. He met shooters squarely with his 6-foot-5 frame when the Golden Knights attempted backdoor plays. He covered up pucks in the blue paint. He was an essential piece of a 3-for-3 night on the penalty kill.
Marchessault was awarded his penalty shot with 6:57 remaining in the third period. A goal would have cut the Sabres' lead to one and given the Golden Knights plenty of time to push for the tying score.
Luukkonen stayed patient as Marchessault drifted into the slot, allowing Marchessault to make the first move. When Marchessault deked right, Luukkonen followed and left no room to shoot. Marchessault settled for a shot from near the goal line.
Luukkonen gloved the shot, dropped it to the ice and paddled the puck away from his net.

"Last time I was here, he was a different goalie," said Pilut, whose first stint with the Sabres overlapped with Luukkonen's first pro season. "Now when I came back, his confidence level is so high and he's just matured so much in his game. It's awesome to see. He's really a guy you can rely on. We know at the end he's going to make those big saves for us."
Luukkonen has a .939 save percentage in his last three starts, a testament to the strides he's made in exactly one month since being recalled from Rochester.
"That's why you stand by your guys and support them through the challenges," Granato said. "He's found ways to take adverse situations and adapt and become better. It's a great sign for him because he's gotten better each game he's played on this callup, on this recall. Tonight was, again, an outstanding effort by him."

How it happened

PERIOD 1
Luukkonen made 10 saves to keep the Golden Knights off the board, including a point-blank stop on William Karlsson following a turnover in the defensive zone.
The Sabres went 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.
PERIOD 2
The Sabres stormed ahead in a three-goal period, beginning when Alex Tuch hit Skinner with a pass through the offensive zone. Skinner buried a shot short-side to put the Sabres on the board less than two minutes into the period.

Thompson double the lead with the latest addition to his highlight reel, using his reach and body to evade two defenders as he drifted into the slot and buried a wrister.

Pilut scored his first goal of the season with 6:32 remaining, sending a slap shot from the point through a Zemgus Girgensons screen after Peyton Krebs won a draw in the offensive zone.

Luukkonen, meanwhile, continued to shut the door. His period included a pad save on a backhand attempt in tight by Reilly Smith and a breakaway save on Mark Stone.
PERIOD 3
The Golden Knights finally broke through 3:54 into the period with a breakaway goal by Chandler Stephenson.
Luukkonen continued to dominate from that point on. He anchored the Sabres' third penalty kill of the night, then stuck with Jonathan Marchessault to turn away a penalty shot attempt with 6:57 remaining.

With the extra attacker on, Reilly Smith scored with 2:21 left to put Vegas within one. The Golden Knights kept the pressure on, but Luukkonen and the Sabres held strong to preserve the lead.
Rasmus Dahlin played the final 2:59 of the game and finished with a game-high 29:03 of ice time. He played over 29 minutes in each of the three games on the road trip.

What we learned

1.Connor McDavid leads the NHL with 28 goals. Thompson is now two behind him at 26.
2.Thompson has goals in four straight games, the longest streak of his career.
3.Thompson was named the NHL's Second Star of the Week for the second consecutive week on Monday morning. He's the first Sabres player to be named a Star of the Week in consecutive weeks since the NHL introduced the award in 2006-07.
4.Thompson was asked what he was most proud of on the road trip.
"I think the biggest thing for us is we had a few gut checks," he said. "You look at Colorado in the third, we learned how to pull out a win in that game and do it again tonight. Those are character wins and those are wins where good teams find a way to win. I think we're a good team.
5. Ilya Lyubushkin returned to the lineup after missing nine games with a lower-body injury. He recorded four hits and a blocked shot in 15:37 of action. The Sabres loaned Jeremy Davies to Rochester prior to the game to make room on the roster for Lyubushkin's return.
6.We'll let Kyle Okposo take it away to end this one:

Up next

The Sabres return home to host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday. Tickets are on sale now.
Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. The puck drops at 7.