Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has been named the NHL’s Third Star of the Week for the week ending Nov. 10, the league announced Monday.
Luukkonen started three consecutive wins for the Sabres, making a combined 86 saves on 90 shots for a .956 save percentage. He also turned away all three of the shots he faced in a victorious shootout against the Flames on Saturday.
The goaltender has stopped 22 of 25 high-danger shots during the three-game winning streak, according to Natural Stat Trick.
“I feel like as a team we’ve been playing really good hockey and that helps me, of course,” Luukkonen said Saturday. “I always talk about (how) 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.”
Luukkonen established himself as a full-time NHL goalie last season, when he had a .910 save percentage with 27 wins and five shutouts in 54 games. His wins and shutouts were the most by a Sabres goaltender since Ryan Miller.
He’s matched last season’s save percentage through 11 starts to begin 2024-25.
“He’s played very well,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “The team play has been better and his play has been better. He’s really made key saves."
