Sabres’ Struggles Overshadowing UPL’s Strong Play – The Hockey Writers Buffalo Sabres Latest News, Analysis & More

The Buffalo Sabres blew another lead against the Colorado Avalanche in a 6-5 overtime loss on Thursday, which drops them to sole possession of last place in the Eastern Conference with 32 points. There is one bright spot in all of this: Sabres’ goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

Luukkonen has not had a great season with rough stats on the surface – 11 wins in 27 games with a 2.95 goals-against average (GAA) and a .898 save percentage (SV%). The team in front of him has hung him out to dry numerous times. Yet, he’s allowed three goals or fewer in 19 games, and the team’s record in those games is 11-7-1.

Luukkonen did go through a rough stretch, during the Sabres’ 13-game losing streak he allowed three or more goals five times in nine games. However, in four starts since then, he has a record of 3-1, allowing three or fewer goals in all four games with a 2.00 GAA and a .924 SV%.

Night in and night out he gives the team a chance to win, and the Sabres need to figure out how to do it because they’re wasting Luukkonen’s prime years as the team’s starting netminder.

In games that Luukkonen has not started, the team is 3-8-1 with a combined 3.25 GAA and .850 SV%. He is good enough that instead of allowing five or six goals, he lets in only two or three to keep the game close.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen Needs More Goal Support

It’s not just the defense in front of him. He’s also not getting much goal support. The Sabres rank 20th in the NHL with 3.03 goals for per game (GF/GM). Dylan Cozens, Jack Quinn, and, for parts of the season, Tage Thompson, J.J. Peterka, and Alex Tuch have struggled. Here are their totals:

• Thompson: 30 points (33 games played)
• Tuch: 28 points (38 games played)
• Peterka: 26 points (36 games played)
• Cozens: 19 points (38 games played)
• Quinn: 13 points (31 games played)

If these five players can produce on almost a nightly basis, the team will be in great shape. Right now, Jason Zucker is tied for third on the team in points (with 26) and leads the team in power-play goals and points. If he is producing consistently, all it takes is for the top six to start producing for the Sabres to start stringing together wins. It might be obvious, but it has yet to happen.

The Sabres have three of the best puck-moving defensemen in the NHL. Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, and Bowen Byram are all in the top seven on the team in points. But Byram is set to become a restricted free agent this summer, so the Sabres need to take advantage of the opportunity while he is on the blue line.

Related: Sabres Need to Extend Bowen Byram Before July 1st

The Sabres are again a hit-or-miss team like they were at the beginning of the season – in one game, they look like the team they should be every night, then the next night, they’re the opposite. They need consistent production in order to win games, especially now.

Take Advantage of UPL’s Prime

Luukkonen is expected to be the team’s starter for the next four or five years, so they have a prime opportunity to become competitive again. But they have to pull it together. The team in front of him has all the talent in the world. We saw it two seasons ago, but before we know it, this could turn into another Linus Ullmark situation where no matter how good Luukkonen plays, the team won’t be able to take advantage of it.

That was Ullmark from 2018 until 2021 before he left via free agency in the 2021 offseason to join the Boston Bruins. Less than two seasons later, he had a historic season and won the Vezina Trophy. That doesn’t have to happen again, but if the Sabres don’t start to pull together in front of him, we’ll likely see UPL in a different sweater.