Observations: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen steady in goal, Sabres still lose to Ducks

Anaheim Ducks rookie center Trevor Zegras picked the puck up with the blade of his stick and, while Luukkonen’s Buffalo Sabres teammates watched, lobbed it in front of the net, where Sonny Milano connected in mid-air for a goal in the second period.

There was an audible gasp from the fans behind the net. The Ducks rejoiced. The Sabres were dumbfounded. Luukkonen didn’t seem fazed, though.

While the Sabres’ typically fast-paced attack moved at a snail’s pace at times Tuesday night in KeyBank Center, their 22-year-old goaltender provided stability in net.

Luukkonen couldn't hold off the Ducks long enough, though. 

After the rookie's teammates could not break through offensively in his season debut for the Sabres, the Ducks pulled away with a goal late in the third period to secure a 2-0 win.

"UPL looked good, he looked comfortable," said coach Don Granato. "I thought we helped him out more than we have been lately. It was nice to see him feel good and look good. But no support on the scoring end was obviously the difference and made it tough."

Luukkonen stopped 21 of 23 shots and, aside from the Zegras highlight-reel play, his lone blemish was Sam Carrick tipping Josh Manson's shot off a faceoff win to give Anaheim a two-goal lead with 2:08 remaining in regulation.

The Sabres (8-14-3) are winless in nine of their last 10 games and fell to 6-7-1 at home. The Ducks (14-8-5) own the second-best record in the Western Conference since Oct. 31.

This isn’t the way general manager Kevyn Adams envisioned Luukkonen reaching Buffalo this season. Craig Anderson, a 40-year-old goalie who started the season opener, is out long-term with an upper-body injury. Dustin Tokarski, the starter upon Anderson sustaining the upper-body injury, has been in Covid-19 protocol since Thursday.

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Aaron Dell, the backup Tuesday night, has a 4.52 goals-against average and an .872 save percentage. Malcolm Subban, who was acquired from Chicago last week, allowed six goals on 25 shots Saturday in Carolina before sustaining a right leg injury. He was the eighth goalie to appear in a game for Buffalo since Granato took over as interim coach in March.

Down to only one healthy goalie and despite optimism that Subban may return for a weekend back-to-back, the Sabres had to use an emergency recall to summon Luukkonen from Rochester on Monday. Drafted in the second round in 2017, Luukkonen had an .818 save percentage in four October starts before a bounce-back November with a .920 save percentage in eight outings. He’s appeared in only 36 games in the American Hockey League since the start of 2019-20, though he played well in four games with the Sabres in the spring.

Ideally, the Sabres would be able to let Luukkonen earn a full-time spot in the NHL. He made a strong case for himself against the Ducks, providing bail-out saves that haven’t been made by other Buffalo goalies in recent weeks.

Since Anderson last played Nov. 2, the Sabres rank 30th in the NHL in 5-on-5 save percentage (.894), and their 3.75 goals against per game this season was the league’s third-worst mark entering play Tuesday. The Sabres defended well in front of Luukkonen, limiting Anaheim to only three high-danger scoring chances at 5-on-5, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.

"I felt good," said Luukkonen, who hadn't appeared in a game since Nov. 26. "The guys played really well in front of me today, so that made it easier. I didn’t feel rusty at all."

When Rasmus Dahlin was stripped of the puck by Zegras near the Buffalo net in the first period, Luukkonen was in position to make a save. There was another save on a shot by Isac Lundestrom from the high slot.

Luukkonen didn’t allow a goal until Zegras’ goal-of-the-year play for a 1-0 Ducks lead at 5:14 into the second period.

This wasn’t the finest showing by Buffalo, which had two days between games while Anaheim was playing its second of a back-to-back. The Sabres had only 10 shots on goal through two periods and were forcing passes, instead of chipping the puck in and forechecking against a potentially tired opponent. Jeff Skinner overpassed on a 2-on-1 in the second period, and Tage Thompson was the only Sabres forward consistently finding space in the offensive zone.

"We looked a little lethargic," said Granato. "We can only guess why and we’re going to try to figure that out ourselves on the coaching side. We didn’t look like ourselves or play with the pace we typically do."

The Sabres’ power play went 0-for-3, including two failed opportunities in the third period. Luukkonen made a pair of saves on Vinni Lettieri to keep the deficit at one goal, but while Buffalo out-shot Anaheim 15-8 in the final 20 minutes, an inability to convert led to the loss. The Sabres had 24 shots blocked and missed the net 17 times. 

"He played great," Rasmus Asplund said of Luukkonen. "He kept us in it and made saves at the right times in the game."

Here are other observations from the game Tuesday night:

1. Early exit

Sabres center Casey Mittelstadt left the game in the third period after testing out an injury that appeared to occur when he attempted to carry the puck deep into the offensive zone on a power play. Mittelstadt grimaced in pain on the bench between shifts and went out when his number was called again, only to circle back and leave for the trainers’ room.

Granato said this wasn't a recurrence of the injury that kept Mittelstadt out 21 games and raised optimism that it's a short-term issue.

2. Bad look

Zegras was giggling on the bench when officials determined that Milano's goal was not the result of high sticking. This was a bad look for the Sabres. Five players were standing and watching Zegras behind the net. Colin Miller waited too long to pressure Zegras and Asplund lost inside position on Milano. Granato wasn't pleased with the entire sequence, including how his players defended Anaheim's zone entry.

"I didn’t even see him pick the puck up," said Asplund. "It’s a high-skilled play from a skilled player. You don’t see that very often, so it’s not easy to be ready for, either. High-skilled play."

Trevor Zegras just flipped the puck over UPL to Milano ....who batted it out of midair.... 1-0 #LetsGoBuffalo #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/TZ8sFtq8so

— Buffalo Hockey moments (@SabresPlays) December 8, 2021

3. Lineup

Defenseman Robert Hagg, a reliable shot-blocking to penalty killer for the Sabres, missed a second game because of a bothersome, undisclosed injury, but he’s on track to return to the lineup Friday. Forwards Mark Jankowski and John Hayden were healthy scratches. Anaheim was without forwards Ryan Getzlaf, Adam Henrique and Max Comtois.

4. Next

The Sabres host the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals on Friday and Saturday, respectively.