Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devon Levi now get all the practice reps since Eric Comrie cleared waivers and was sent to the Rochester Americans.
It depends who you talk to as to what it all means.
"Practice reps, and there’s a little bit more clarity, because you know the rotation is two instead of three," said Sabres head coach Don Granato on Wednesday.
Luukkonen feels he has improved his overall game from last season.
"There’s more flow to the practices when there’s two goalies, so that’s probably the biggest thing," said Luukkonen following Wednesday's practice. "We’ve had a pretty even rotation otherwise [in games], so practice probably is the biggest thing."
Rookie netminder Devon Levi says he's fine with two or three goalies around.
"It’s a little bit more ice time [with two goalies], which is nice, but I didn’t mind [having three]," said Levi following Wednesday's practice. "I got my work in either way. If we had a three-goalie rotation going and I didn’t get enough work, I’d stay out after practice and get some more. So it never was really a problem."
Levi will play in his second-straight game on Thursday, as he’ll start in his hometown of Montreal against the Canadiens. It's the first time he will get the chance to play in Montreal, which he’s very pumped for.
"I’m super excited," Levi said. "I haven’t been home since the summer, so it’ll be great to see some friends and have some family at the game."
Levi grew up going to Canadiens games, so being in that arena as an NHL player is a dream come true.
"That’s going to be super special, coming out to 'Fix You'. Being in that building will be really, really cool," Levi said. "The last time I was in there was probably when I was a kid watching a Habs game."
Levi says when he takes the ice for the morning skate, he’ll soak things in a little bit, and especially in the warmup before the game.
Carey Price was Levi's idol growing up, as he’s a little too young for Patrick Roy.
"Growing up watching [Price] gave me a lot of inspiration, and he’s a great person also, as I had a chance to meet him," Levi said. "It was really cool to have him as a role model."
If you lived in Montreal, you know the history of the Canadiens. Levi is no different.
"My dad would always talk to me about past players and the history," he said. "Ken Dryden was a pretty cool guy wearing the first helmet.
"I remember I had a replica of his at my house, and I used to wear it for street hockey. There’s obviously a lot of history in that building, and some really good hockey players have been playing there for a really long time."
Luukkonen has been much better in his last two games played. He lost in overtime to the New York Rangers, and then played very well in an overtime win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. That victory broke a personal six-game losing streak, as he’s starting to look like the goalie he was before missing games due to illness.
"I think he’s feeling better in that regard, and he’s one bright spot this year that could go under the radar," Granato agreed. "He’s continuing to show that he’s adding to his game, and he’s getting better and better as an NHL player. His trend has been consistently going upward, and I’m happy to see he’s going in the right direction."
Luukkonen says he’s feeling stronger, and is trying to build on those two games.
"When you don’t play for a week or so, you lose some momentum here. But I think the New York game was alright for me, and Columbus kind of continued that," Luukkonen said. "It was a really good game from the guys on the team too, so I’m happy to get the win and had a solid game too."
Granato didn’t like what he saw from the defensive pair of Rasmus Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson on Sunday, so he experimented with other pairs on Wednesday.
Dahlin was skating with Henri Jokiharju, while Owen Power was paired with Erik Johnson. That left Samuelsson, Connor Clifton and Ryan Johnson to work in as a third pair.
"It was just a different look," Granato said. "I didn’t like 'Sammy' and 'Dahls'' game the other day, and we haven’t had many practice days. So to make use of it, we tried some different things, experimented a bit and gave guys different looks with different people."
The Sabres didn’t call anyone up for the injured Kyle Okposo, so they’re going with a roster of 22 for now.
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