Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Buffalo Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen rejoined his teammates at practice on Thursday after missing the final five games before the Olympic break due to injury.
Luukkonen played just 12:14 back on Jan. 27 in Toronto against the Maple Leafs before having to leave that game with a lower-body ailment. That injury also forced him to pull out of the Olympics for Team Finland.
As far as the injury goes, it doesn’t sound like he’s quite at 100% yet.
"It’s getting to the point where it’s pretty normal, as it’s the last push to get it to game shape," said Luukkonen following Thursday's practice.
There’s still six days before the Sabres play their first game out of the break in New Jersey against the Devils, so there’s still time for Luukkonen.
"That’s the silver lining of this whole unfortunate thing." the Sabres goalie said. "I’ve been able to take my time with it, and the little bit of time that we still have is going to be good for me."
Of course, Luukkonen was sad that he had to pull out of the Winter Olympics.
"It was devastating to know that you can’t make it," Luukkonen admitted. "But we’ve been playing well as a team here. It would’ve been really special to be part of that."
Finland is set to face Canada in Friday's Semifinal Round of the Olympics.
Luukkonan says he was pretty miserable the first few days after the injury, knowing he’d be out for the Olympics. The Sabres goaltender was on a 7-2-1 run when he got hurt, so once he processed everything, he said he was in a good place.
"Mentally for me, it’s always that what’s happened, and you can’t change that," Luukkonen said. "You go through it for a couple of days, and then you start to look forward and you start to be positive about the fact that we have a huge playoff push coming here. I’m really happy I’m part of the team here, and we have something special going on right now. Being healthy for that has gotten me through it too."
Talking to the players over the last few days, they seem excited to be back and to get to the final 25 games to continue the playoff push.
"It’s something really special for everybody here," Luukkonen said. "We want to make it, the whole city wants to make it. It keeps you really, really motivated to go back playing again."
Luukkonen was the only new player at practice on Thursday.
Zach Benson was still not out there, but both Josh Norris and Josh Dunne were in regular jerseys, which means they were able to practice fully.
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