Sabres to start Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in Game 7 against Canadiens

The back-and-forth in the crease for the Buffalo Sabres continues on Monday night as their season is on the line in Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens at KeyBank center.

After he relieved Alex Lyon en route to an 8-3 win to extend the series in Game 6, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will get the nod in Monday’s decisive Game 7.

Head coach Lindy Ruff has gone on a journey with his starting goaltender decisions throughout the series. Lyon was the easy call to start after he was excellent in the first round against the Boston Bruins, but Luukkonen got the nod for Game 4 with Buffalo down 2-1 through the first three games. The Finn won Game 4 and went again in Game 5, but lost, prompting Ruff to go back to Lyon for Game 6.

Lyon then allowed goals on the first three shots he faced at Bell Centre, and Luukkonen came on in relief, blanking the Habs for the rest of the game as the Sabres absolutely dominated play for the rest of the game on the way to a blowout win.

In five appearances this postseason, Luukkonen owns a .875 save percentage and 3.36 goals against average, while Lyon’s stinker on Saturday lowered his numbers to a .904 SV% and 2.59 GAA.

If Buffalo is going to win Game 7, it will need to put together a strong effort on home ice, a task that has proven difficult throughout this run. The Sabres have a 2-4 record at home this postseason after going 26-10-5 in the regular season.

The winner of Game 7 between Montreal and Buffalo will meet the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final. The Hurricanes are the top seed in the East, and they went 8-0 by sweeping their first two series against Ottawa and Philadelphia.

Game 1 of the East Final will take place at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh at 8:00 PM EST on Thursday.