Morning Skate | Luukkonen to make NHL debut vs. Bruins

Rasmus Dahlin said the excitement from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was evident within the Sabres' dressing room on Friday morning, ahead of the goaltender's NHL debut against the Boston Bruins.
"We're going to do everything we can to get his first win," Dahlin said.
Luukkonen will start against countryman Tuukka Rask as the Sabres seek a victory to conclude a set of three games in four days against the Bruins at KeyBank Center. He spent the last two games backing up Dustin Tokarski, a calculated move to offer an up-close look at the NHL.

"We're excited to see him at the next level, this level," interim head coach Don Granato said. "The next step. We waited a couple days, obviously, to have him here, to acclimate to his surrounding as much as he could. We're playing the same opponent again, so he's been able to watch them.
"He's had the time to prepare for this, which is better, I think. Like anyone else, I'm excited to see him in net."

The Sabres drafted Luukkonen during the second round in 2017, making him the second goaltender off the board that year. He turned heads with his 2018-19 season, which saw him lead Finland to a World Junior gold medal and earn Player of the Year honors in the Ontario Hockey League.
The organization has been measured in its approach to Luukkonen's development at the professional level, allowing him to spend the majority of last season with ECHL Cincinnati (where he earned an All-Star nod) before taking over this year as the No. 1 goalie in Rochester.
Injuries to Linus Ullmark and Carter Hutton, combined with a demanding pace of play, opened the door for a debut with Buffalo.
"That cleared way for this opportunity," Granato said. "And the fact that we all feel that we're much more confident defending as a group, as a unit of five, defensive pairs. So, we feel we're bringing him into a situation that's better than it was a few weeks ago."
Luukkonen will become the fifth Sabres player to make their NHL debut this season, following Dylan Cozens, Jacob Bryson, Arttu Ruotsalainen, and Mattias Samuelsson.

The lineup

Granato said not to expect any other changes from Thursday's lineup:
53 Jeff Skinner - 23 Sam Reinhart - 68 Victor Olofsson
74 Rasmus Asplund - 37 Casey Mittelstadt - 72 Tage Thompson
96 Anders Bjork - 24 Dylan Cozens - 25 Arttu Ruotsalainen
13 Tobias Rieder - 15 Riley Sheahan - 91 Drake Caggiula
26 Rasmus Dahlin - 10 Henri Jokiharju
54 Mattias Samuelsson - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen
78 Jacob Bryson - 3 Will Borgen
1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
31 Dustin Tokarski

Tune in

Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. Puck drop is scheduled for 7.