(WGR 550) – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will get his fourth-straight start for the Buffalo on Tuesday night in Winnipeg against the Jets.
Luukkonen and his teammates are coming off a shootout loss to the Washington Capitals on Saturday night in Buffalo. The Sabres have lost seven-straight games, and the team has only scored three goals in three games.
The 22-year-old netminder has earned the chance he’s getting after his recent call up from the Rochester Americans.
“He’s had three solid games, and Games 2 and 3 were back-to-back and there was no drop in his ability to concentrate or his physical ability to move around," said head coach Don Granato on Tuesday. "He showed no drop in those three games either physically or psychologically.”
Winnipeg has a crazy atmosphere in their arena that can be very intimidating. Granato is interested to see how Luukkonen handles it.
“How he responds to adversity is key for any young player, and you don’t want them in a situation where they’re overwhelmed," he said. "We’re really watching for that, and if you don’t see that, then he’s in a really good spot.”
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One of the biggest reasons for the goal drought for Buffalo is its best line of Tage Thompson with Victor Olofsson and Jeff Skinner has gone dry. Olofsson hasn’t scored a goal in the 11 games since he returned from injury. Thompson hasn’t scored in seven games, and Skinner is goalless in his last five.
Despite the struggles, Granato knows the line is still generating chances, especially in Thompson's case.
"He’s battling against top defensive pairings to create those chances, but he’s had several goal posts," Granato said. "He’s been just as close to scoring as not scoring.”
Kyle Okposo is the Sabres' leading scorer this season. Dating back to last season, Okposo is on a 58-point pace in his last 44 games.
The Sabres appear to be a better team this year, but they have just three wins in 20 games. Buffalo is currently 29th in the league with a points percentage of .370. The expansion franchise, Seattle Kraken, currently have a points percentage of .389.
Granato believes the seeds of what they're building in Buffalo are being planted.
“Our players need to see that we’re building something," he said. "I’ve talked since I took the job that it’s going to turn at some point due to the things that make it turn, and one of them is not dwelling on negatives.
“We hit a tailspin in Carolina, where we lost a lot of confidence. To me, that’s an excuse. We had to fight through that, and we need to keep playing with passion, knowing and understanding that every guy on our team is getting better. At some point, that’s going to add up, and it’s not going to be a surprise to me when it does.”
I think it’s important to realize that maybe 10 or fewer of the players on the roster now are going to be there when the Sabres do have their finished product. That’s why so many of the players are on one-year contracts.
Winnipeg has faced its own struggles this season, winning four of its last 12 games.
Eric Comrie doesn’t play much, but he was in goal last game for the Jets against the Vancouver Canucks. That likely means Connor Hellebuyck will be back in net for Winnipeg.
Last year’s Vezina Trophy winner is 10-7-4 this season with a 2.64 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage.
Kyle Connor is fifth in NHL scoring this year with 18 goals and 14 assists for 32 points. His 18 goals currently rank tied for third in the league with Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews, and only behind Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin (20) and Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl (23).
The injury news isn’t good for Winnipeg, as captain Blake Wheeler is out long-term with a knee injury. He’ll miss multiple weeks after colliding with former Sabres defenseman and current teammate Nate Beaulieu in front of the net.
The Jets are currently fifth in the Central Division, three points back of the Colorado Avalanche and three points ahead of the Dallas Stars.
Join Brian Koziol and myself for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 7 p.m. EST when we’ll be joined by Granato, Olofsson and Mark Pysyk.
