When the Buffalo Sabres played their daily game of roster roulette on Sunday, goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was sent to Rochester on a "paper transaction" to get Peyton Krebs back in the lineup. The assumption was that Craig Anderson was likely getting the crease for Monday's matinee against the Florida Panthers.
So when coach Don Granato arrived for his standard pregame media briefing on Monday and was asked who the starting goalie was going to be, he smiled and said, "You want to guess?"
The gathered media would have all been wrong. Granato revealed the Sabres were going back to Luukkonen for a third straight game after he made 36 saves in Saturday's 5-3 win at Nashville.
There was nothing wrong with the choice, even though the Sabres suffered a 4-1 loss to the Panthers before a disappointed KeyBank Center crowd of 15,251.
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And Granato made it an even more emphatic endorsement when asked what went into the decision to go with Luukkonen over Anderson or Eric Comrie.
"He's in a rhythm. The work to rest ratio he had, the day yesterday to reenergize," Granato said. "So we're looking at lots of things that we can look at: Can we put this guy back in? Over the last little bit, he's shown us, 'OK, if (all) three guys are ready, the edge is to him right now. He's in a groove. He's been winning games. And so today's decision is based on winning. He's the guy."
Since Comrie returned from his knee injury, the Sabres had tip-toed around the issue of their goaltending. This was the first true admission of what has become clear for anybody watching: The 23-year-old Luukkonen gives the Sabres the best chance to win.
"He's fresh," Granato said. "If I thought that he was still (dealing with) the return from Nashville the travel, the battle within that game, that he needed another day, then we would give him another day. But the fact is he's ready.
"So that's how we're making our decision, with as much information as we can take in. And with the objective of what gives us our best chance to win that next game without jeopardizing wins in the future."
Luukkonen stopped 30 of 33 shots in the game, with Florida's final goal hitting an empty net. He was 7-1 in his previous eight starts, with road wins at several of the NHL's prominent arenas.
For the season, he's 10-5-1 and his victory total is tied for third among NHL rookies with Carolina's Pyotr Kochetkov. That's even though his numbers (3.41 goals-against average and .897 save percentage) are relatively pedestrian.
None of the goals Monday were Luukkonen's fault as he had 27 saves through two periods and Buffalo was outshot for the game, 34-29.
"He's been unbelievable," said winger Alex Tuch, who scored the lone Buffalo goal. "It's really good to see him start growing his confidence. He deserved a win today and we weren't able to help him out but it helps us have confidence in front of him."
Luukkonen said he was thankful for Granato's endorsement.
"You appreciate that as a goalie," he said. "In the end, it's what you've work towards so it feels good. But if you earn it, you want to keep it too. You just want to continue where you're at, be better and help the team win."
Luukkonen has started 10 of the Sabres' last 15 games and says he welcomes as many chances as he can get.
"It's part of being in the NHL and learning," he said. "It's been good. I don't feel tired. I'm a young guy and I appreciate the chance to play as much as I can and help the team win."
Here are some other observations on the loss:
1. How the game was won
In the first game of the second half of their schedule, the Sabres fell two points behind the Panthers in the Eastern Conference race, albeit still with three games in hand. The Sabres started the day five points out of the last wild-card slot and the two teams owning those berths, Washington and the New York Islanders, met Monday night.
The Panthers have beaten the Sabres six straight times, including both visits to Buffalo this season. They opened the scoring at 4:01 of the first period as former Buffalo defenseman Brandon Montour leaked to the edge of the crease and beat Tuch to a loose puck before jamming in a rebound. It was Montour's eighth goal of the season.
Sam Bennett made it 2-0 at 8:04 of the second, pounding home a loose puck a few feet in front of Luukkonen, and Anton Lundell gave the Panthers more breathing room on a 2-on-1 break just 34 seconds into the third. That goal came off a perfect pass by former Buffalo forward Sam Reinhart.
The Sabres again struggled through the neutral zone and were guilty of overpassing on several occasions.
"We didn't have the emotional energy," Granato said. "It's two weeks in a row now with really big highs on a Saturday night (wins over Minnesota and Nashville) and two days later on a Monday, we couldn't get the energy (in losses to Philadelphia and Florida)."
2. Top line struggles
Even though Tuch scored, his line with Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner struggled from the opening shift Monday. Tuch was on the ice for all four Florida goals and was minus-3 in the game while Thompson and Skinner were minus-2.
Granato even split up the trio in the late stages of the third period, putting Dylan Cozens on the wing with Thompson and Skinner and Tuch with Tyson Jost and Kyle Okposo.
"We weren’t good tonight, especially defensively," Tuch said. "We've got to be better, make better plays coming out of our zone. Wwe have to bear down a little bit more defensively, especially if it’s not happening offensively. We have to help the team win in any way possible and we didn’t do that tonight."
Thompson is on a season-high five-game goal drought and remains stuck at 31.
"It's first time through it for these guys, for Tuch and Thompson," Granato said of opponents' increased attention. " They're watching every inch and trying not to give you any inch on that ice. Lots of times, you try to do more. That trying more doesn't necessarily mean efficient."
3. Around the boards
The Sabres silenced the raucous fans of Bridgestone Arena with a 5-3 win over the Nashville Predators.
• That's four straight home losses for the Sabres, who are 9-12-2 downtown but 12-7-0 on the road. Since Thanksgiving, Buffalo is just 4-6-2 at KeyBank and 8-2 in enemy rinks.
• Zemgus Girgensons was back in the Buffalo lineup after missing Saturday's win in Nashville with a non-Covid illness. Vinnie Hinostroza and Kale Clague were scratches.
• Former Buffalo and Rochester defenseman Casey Fitzgerald, claimed by the Panthers on waivers from the Sabres last week, was a scratch for the third straight game. He has yet to play.
4. Next
The Sabres hit the skies after the game for Chicago, where they will meet the Blackhawks in United Center Tuesday night at 8:30. The next home game is Ryan Miller Night on Thursday against the Islanders.
