Lindy Ruff had planned to utilize an emergency backup goalie opposite James Reimer for Wednesday’s practice at KeyBank Center, with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen scheduled to join the team along with fellow 4 Nations Face-Off participants Rasmus Dahlin and Henri Jokiharju later this week.
The plan changed when Luukkonen arrived at KeyBank Center ahead of practice, eager to get back on the ice with his teammates.
“He showed up and wanted to get out there and get back to work,” Ruff said.
Luukkonen was a full participant in the hour-long session, his attention turned toward the final 28 games of this season as the Sabres work to fight their way back into playoff contention. The team returns to play Saturday at home against the New York Rangers.
“I think we have to look at it one game at a time,” Luukkonen said. “I know that’s cliché, but that’s all you can do right now. We have to gather up some wins, some winning streaks to kind of make a playoff push still here. So, I feel like it starts with the first game.
“We can’t let it slide from the start. (We need to) kind of bring our ‘A’ game. You never know how the other teams are coming back from the break. Hopefully you can catch some of the teams kind of still sleeping from it. So, we have to be ready. We have to be good to go when the puck drops on Saturday.”
The Sabres entered the break 12 points out of the second wild card in the Eastern Conference after winning four of their last five games. It’s a steep climb, but one the Sabres aren’t hiding from as they return from break.
Ruff outlined a path to 90 points – the current pace for the second wild card – when the group reconvened on Tuesday: seven points every five games until April 13, which would give the team 84 points with three games remaining.
“I know it’s hard,” Ruff said. “I know it’s a difficult task, but I think you have to set goals. If you look at the previous five, it was 4-1. Set goals and try to achieve your goals. Make this your playoff push.”
Within that task, the Sabres will continue to seek a consistent identity, specifically on the defensive end. The Sabres rank 11th in the NHL with an average of 3.13 goals scored per game but 28th in goals allowed per game (3.41).
“Obviously we’re not in a spot where we want to be we’ve got a steep uphill climb the remainder of the season,” Tage Thompson said. “We’ve almost got to be perfect. But I think you just look at it one game at a time.
“… I think we’ve got a good opportunity here to kind of piece something together to help our team for the rest of the season and just moving forward as a group in particular. Really solidify what we want our identity to be and the right type of hockey we need to play on a daily basis.”
Here’s more from Wednesday’s skate.
