'It means a lot' | Luukkonen earns victory in NHL debut

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen flashed a big smile when recounting the first NHL shot he faced, a wrister from the slot by Boston Bruins defenseman Steve Kampfer that beat him below the glove.
"That wasn't the way I imagined the start would be," the rookie admitted.
Luukkonen rebounded from the early setback and turned in a 36-save performance to earn the victory in his NHL debut and Sam Reinhart completed a hat trick to survive a late scare in a 6-4 victory for the Sabres at KeyBank Center on Friday.
Buffalo's young cast continued to contribute offensively, with Rasmus Dahlin, Casey Mittelstadt, and Arttu Ruotsalainen each scoring goals. Mattias Samuelsson tallied a pair of assists for his first NHL points.
Here are five takeaways.

1. Luukkonen's debut

Don Granato said prior to the game that he felt his team's recent defensive play could put Luukkonen in position for a comfortable debut. An early shot from the slot was not what he had in mind.
"We make a couple mistakes and leave a point-blank shot for his first shot in the NHL," the interim head coach said afterward. "We kind of left him out on his own on that one. So, he battled. He looked great from that point forward."
The Sabres did their part defensively for much of the game afterward and Luukkonen held the Bruins to that one goal until Nick Ritchie buried a rebound with 7:54 remaining in the contest.
The goal from Ritchie was innocent enough at first - Buffalo still held a 5-2 lead. But Kevan Miller followed it with a shot that deflected in off the stick of Rasmus Ristolainen, and then Taylor Hall cut the deficit to one when a pass went in off the blade of Ristolainen's stick with 2:48 to play.
It was Reinhart who put a stop to the comeback, sending a shot from his own zone into an empty net with 41.9 seconds on the board.
"It wasn't probably the way I thought it would be, but in the end we got the win," Luukkonen said. "And it means a lot."

The win was the culmination of what has been long, patient journey for Luukkonen since his selection during the second round of the 2017 NHL Draft. He had hip surgery following his dominant season with Sudbury of the Ontario Hockey League in 2018-19. The Sabres eased him along the pro ranks, having him spend last year with ECHL Cincinnati before taking over as the No. 1 goalie in Rochester this season.
"In hockey, in sports, you can't decide how your journey is going to be, so there's always going to be some bumps in the road which you have to kind of get through," he said. "But I really appreciate the help from everybody's who has helped me along the way and helped me get here."

2. A bounce-back effort

The Sabres had fallen short in losses to the Bruins on Tuesday and Thursday. The Bruins entered this game with a 19-4-3 record when scoring first, so things could have looked bleak after Kampfer's goal.
"I was very happy and impressed with our guys," Granato said. "… We played with a lot of frustration yesterday, specifically on the power play, and I thought that carried over into our 5-on-5 game, that frustration.
"… The chatter on the bench was outstanding, the posture of the guys on the bench. Just listening to them speak after we gave up a couple goals and it was close, very commanding voices and initiative taking responses by them. So, that was very nice to see as far as the psychology of it goes."

3. The youth movement continues

Let's update the stats for some of the young players who appeared on the score sheet Friday.
• Mittelstadt's goal was his eighth in 14 games since March 31. Entering Friday, only seven players had at least eight goals in that span: Brad Marchand, Auston Matthews, Connor Brown, Patrice Bergeron, Artemi Panarin, Aleksander Barkov, and Kirill Kaprisov.
• Dahlin tallied a goal and an assist, giving him 10 points in his last 11 games. He leads the Sabres in even-strength ice time during that span and skated a team-high 23:53 on Friday.
• Ruotsalainen scored for the second straight game and for the fourth time in his nine-game NHL career. Dylan Cozens tallied the assist, his seventh in the last eight games.

4. Reinhart strikes on the power play

The Buffalo power play went 0-for-11 through the first two games against Boston, though Granato did say he saw some encouraging signs Thursday.
The Sabres wasted little time ending their drought Friday, with Reinhart burying a one-time shot from the left faceoff circle just 14 seconds into their first attempt of the night. Reinhart tapped in a loose puck in the paint for a second power-play goal during the third period.

Reinhart's hat trick was the fourth of his NHL career.

5. Remembering Teddy Steeg

Reinhart had his hat-trick stick delivered to the family of the late Theodore "Teddy" Steeg III, who was recognized prior to the game as "Fan of the Year" for 2020-21.
Catch Teddy's story and the postgame scene in the videos below.