Sabres’ Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to miss a week with lower-body injury
Buffalo Sabres fans got some clarity on Thursday morning about how long they can expect goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to be sidelined with the injury he sustained on Tuesday night during a win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters, including Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550, that Luukkonen is set to miss a week before he will be reevaluated. Ruff added that any impact the injury would have on Luukkonen’s availability for the Olympics has not been discussed.
Luukkonen, a 26-year-old native of Espoo, Finland who is in his sixth NHL season, has posted a 20-11-7 record to go with a .903 save percentage and 2.73 goals against average. For his career, he’s gone 82-72-17 with a .89 SV% and 3.2 GAA.
After missing time earlier in the year with a separate injury, Luukkonen put together one of the strongest stretches of his career over the past month. Since December 21, he’s posted a .916 save percentage over 12 games.
Buffalo has a solid plan in Luukkonen’s absence, as veteran backup Alex Lyon has also performed quite well this season. Lyon is 12-6-3 with a .911 SV% and 2.70 GAA, and he’s been especially hot of late, as he’s picked up wins in each of his last eight starts.
The success Luukkonen and Lyon have put together between the pipes has been crucial to Buffalo’s recent hot stretch. The Sabres are 19-3-1 in their past 23 contests, and they’ve surged right into the thick of the playoff picture.
Buffalo currently holds the third-place spot in the Atlantic Division with 65 points, and they are six points clear of the playoff cut line as of Thursday morning.
If the Sabres can keep this run going, they will snap the NHL’s longest playoff drought, one that spans all the way back to the 2010-2011 campaign, the last in which Buffalo appeared in the postseason.
The Sabres are set to host the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night before welcoming the Montreal Canadiens in on Saturday for a crucial Atlantic showdown.