ROCHESTER – The lower-body injury that prevented Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen from competing in the Amerks’ first nine playoff games will also rob him of a development opportunity in an elimination situation Wednesday night.
Luukkonen, a 23-year-old goalie prospect of the Buffalo Sabres, won’t be in net for Game 3 of the Rochester Americans’ division final series against the Laval Rocket in Blue Cross Arena. The Amerks trail the best-of-five series, 2-0, and need a win to stay alive in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Aaron Dell, 33, will be the Amerks’ starting goalie for a 10th consecutive game Wednesday. Dell allowed seven goals on 52 shots in Laval’s back-to-back sweep of Rochester on Sunday and Monday in Place Bell. His five victories are tied with four other goalies for the AHL postseason lead, but a few ugly defensive performances by the Amerks have inflated his save percentage to .878. He was pulled in Game 1 after allowing two momentum-shifting goals that could have been prevented.
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“Upie is close, really close,” Amerks coach Seth Appert said following the morning skate. “It’s just an interesting one. Having played the position, it’s hard because it’s not like a forward or defenseman where you’re like, ‘Oh, I’m only at 80% and I can go out and play and if I’m not playing that well, we have other guys.’ If you’re a goalie, and you’re not 100% confident that you can help your team win, then you’re really putting your team at a disadvantage.”
Appert wouldn’t disclose his lineup, other than defenseman Oskari Laaksonen will play again after being a healthy scratch for the first eight games of the playoffs. Wingers Michael Mersch and Linus Weissbach, both sidelined because of vicious hits to the head, skated Wednesday morning, but their status for the game is unknown.
Luukkonen, a second-round draft choice of the Sabres in 2017, hasn’t played since the regular-season finale April 29, when he was injured on a collision with Utica’s Ryan Schmelzer. The injury occurred at a time when Luukkonen was playing well for Rochester, bolstering his season save percentage to .900.
Luukkonen returned to practice with the Amerks over the weekend and skated on his own Tuesday afternoon after the team returned from Laval.
Laaksonen, who was selected in the third round of the 2017 draft, stepped into the lineup following the blowout loss in Game 1 and helped ignite the Amerks’ offense with his ability to break pressure when exiting his own zone. The power play went 0-for-4 in his return, but Laaksonen showed that he can handle Laval’s forecheck.
Appert acknowledged Wednesday morning that, as a coach, he doesn’t want to scratch a prospect. But Laaksonen’s defensive struggles, which seemed to worsen late in the regular season, led to the decision.
Laaksonen was an AHL all-star for 2020-21 and quarterbacked an effective, top power-play unit. He has 51 points in 99 regular-season games since arriving in Rochester. His play defensively concerned the coaches when they created a plan to play Belleville and Utica, opponents that bring a different level of physicality that Laaksonen has struggled to handle this season.
“It’s been two years and he’s gotten so much better, and he’s done so many good things offensively,” said Appert. “But his defensive game has to continue to improve. His commitment to defending and playing with the physical style. He’s never going to be a physical defenseman, but in North America, you have to physically engage to defend.
"Also, the first two series, Laval is a different style of physicality. Belleville is violent and Utica is heavy, so those are even harder matchups for a young, smaller defenseman. Laval’s got their own set of challenges they throw at you, but it’s a little different level of physicality. It’s more speed and tenacity than violence.”
Laaksonen, 22, admitted that he needs to improve defensively, particularly in one-on-one puck battles. He also accepted the coaches’ decision to sit him after playing 71 games in regular season. But he wasn’t pleased and plans to take advantage of the opportunity.
"I was not happy with the decision and probably everybody else who's in the stands is not happy," said Laaksonen. "But this is a team, the coach decides who plays and we’re this far, so I'm not looking back. It's my chance now to be involved and try to help the team as best I can."
