St. Louis, Mo. (WGR 550) – With the way Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has been playing in net, he’s going to be the Buffalo Sabres' No. 1 goalie for the time being. Sabres head coach Don Granato and general manager Kevyn Adams both have said the 24-year-old has earned more playing time.
It’s a long way from the beginning of the season when Luukkonen had to wait patiently for his first opportunity to get into a game.
"We’ve been rolling with the three goalies, and you can’t let that affect you. Now we’re back to the two goalie rotation, but you can’t let that affect you either. You still have to be ready for the games," said Luukkonen on Wednesday. "It’s been a good year for me, and it would be great to keep it that way."
You can feel the confidence that Luukkonen has now that maybe wasn’t there last season.
"I feel like I’m a lot better goalie," the 2017 second-round pick said. "I’m still getting better during summers. I will put the work in and I think it shows.
"It’s a combination of many things. I’m stronger now, I move better than I used to, I have my feet under me most of the time, which keeps my shoulders more straight for the puck. There’s a lot that goes into it, but also mentally, I have one more year under my belt here, and now knowing what it’s like helps me a lot."
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There have been games where the Sabres have been better defensively, which, of course, helps the goalies be better.
"Adding E.J. [Erik Johnson] on the blue line [helps], but overall, we’ve been better on the defensive end, which shows in my game too," Luukkonen said. "We’ve been playing really good in front of me, and I appreciate that."
Now that the Sabres only have two goalies, it’s going to be more and better work in practice for Luukkonen and Eric Comrie. Luukkonen is looking forward to that.
"That might be the hardest thing in the three-goalie rotation is the practice," he said. "In the practice, there are two nets, and it’s trying to get enough shots in and trying to get a rotation going on. It’s sometimes hard, so it helps to have two goalies on the ice practice wise."
The Sabres have activated Jordan Greenway after he took some time away from the team for a personal matter. To make room, Jiri Kulich has been sent back to the Rochester Americans.
After the morning skate, Granato said he still had to talk to Greenway, but he expects him to play.
Skating extra with the coaches on Wednesday were Connor Clifton, Brandon Biro and Jacob Bryson.
As Buffalo visits the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, they’re coming off an excellent performance against the New York Rangers on Monday. Buffalo knocked off the Rangers, 5-1, but it doesn’t mean a lot if they get off to another bad start in St. Louis and fall behind.
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The Sabres have to start stacking good games, and using their current streak of 3-1-1 would be a good jumping off point.
Alex Tuch has eight goals and seven assists for 15 points in his last 13 games.
JJ Peterka has seven goals and eight assists for 15 points in his last 15 games.
Jeff Skinner is starting to heat up again with three goals and five points in five games.
One player that has struggled is center Dylan Cozens, who has only one goal and one assist for two points in his last 12 games.
The Sabres come into the game three points out of a playoff spot. Buffalo has 22 points, while the seventh and eighth place teams in the Eastern Conference - Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning - have 25. The third place team in the Atlantic Division - Toronto Maple Leafs - also has 25 points.
In the West, the Blues are the No. 1 Wild Card team with 23 points. They’re 11-9-1, and lead the Nashville Predators and Arizona Coyotes by one point.
St. Louis is 14th in the NHL with a points percentage of .548, while the Sabres are 21st at .500.
The Blues have won three-of-seven games, and have been all over the place with their goals and goals-against.
Jordan Binnington has played in eight-of-nine games, but in three of them, he’s played less than 38 minutes. Binnington is 6-6-1 this season with a 2.91 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage.
The veteran will get the net once again on Thursday.
Robert Thomas leads the Blues in scoring this season with 22 points in 21 games.
Here's a look at Buffalo's lines ahead of Thursday's game:
Forwards:
Skinner - Mittelstadt - Tuch
Greenway - Krebs - Okposo
Benson - Cozens - Peterka
(Biro) Rosen - Jost - Olofsson
Defense:
Dahlin - Samuelsson
Power - Jokiharju
R. Johnson - E. Johnson
Bryson - Clifton
Join Brian Koziol and myself for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 7 p.m. EST when you’ll hear from Granato, Luukkonen and Adams.
