Sabres' Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: Gets no help from teammates
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Luukkonen made 28 saves Tuesday in a 4-0 loss to Toronto.
Luukkonen allowed three goals in the loss, while the fourth goal was an empty-netter for Auston Matthews' 400th career goal. Luukkonen is 1-3-1 with 18 goals allowed across his last five starts. His game took a step backward this season after such a strong 2023-24 (2.57 GAA, .910 save percentage). He's 24-24-5 in 55 starts with a queasy 3.20 GAA and an .887 save percentage.
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Sabres' Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: Set to face Toronto
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Luukkonen will be between the home pipes against Toronto on Tuesday, Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports.
Luukkonen was excellent in his last start, albeit a loss, turning aside 32 of 34 shots Saturday against the Panthers. The 26-year-old has a 24-23-5 record with two shutouts, a 3.20 GAA and an .886 save percentage over 54 appearances this season. The Leafs are tied for eighth in the NHL with 3.24 goals per game in 2024-25.
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Sabres' Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: Falls to Florida in shootout
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Luukkonen stopped 32 shots in regulation and overtime and two of three shootout attempts in Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Panthers.
The 26-year-old netminder played well -- his 32 saves were his most in a start in over a month -- but didn't get quite enough help to come away with his 25th win of the season. Luukkonen has lost his grip on the starting job to James Reimer in recent weeks, but the latter will be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason and may have priced himself out of Buffalo's plans with his recent performances. Luukkonen, with four more years and $19 million left on his contract, will still be a big part of the goaltending picture for the Sabres in 2025-26.
Luukkonen will defend the road net against Florida on Saturday, according to Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News.
Luukkonen is coming off a 17-save performance in a 6-3 win over Boston on Sunday. He has a 24-23-4 record with two shutouts, a 3.23 GAA and an .885 save percentage through 53 appearances this season. Florida sits 13th in the league with 3.04 goals per game, but Aleksander Barkov (rest) and Sam Reinhart (rest) will be among the team's lengthy list of scratches.
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Sabres' Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: Earns win Sunday
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Luukkonen stopped 17 of 20 shots in Sunday's 6-3 win over the Bruins.
Luukkonen returned to the Sabres' crease after not seeing action in the previous three games, and he was able to deliver a solid performance in what was his return to winning ways. Luukkonen had lost his last two outings, and that does nothing but back up the consistency issues the 26-year-old has had all season long. Over his last eight outings, Luukkonen has gone 4-4-0 with a 3.72 GAA and an .856 save percentage.
Luukkonen will protect the home net against Boston on Sunday, per Heather Engel of NHL.com.
Luukkonen will get the second half of Buffalo's back-to-back after James Reimer played in Saturday's 3-2 shootout win over Tampa Bay. The 26-year-old Luukkonen has lost his last two outings, surrendering 10 goals on 52 shots. He has a 23-23-4 record with two shutouts, a 3.23 GAA and an .885 save percentage across 52 appearances this season. Boston sits 29th in the league with 2.62 goals per game in 2024-25 but won 5-1 against Carolina on Saturday.
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Sabres' Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: Flops against Philly
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Luukkonen made 25 saves in Saturday's 7-4 loss to the Flyers.
The Sabres took a 3-2 lead midway through the second period on a Jack Quinn power-play tally, but Luukkonen and the Buffalo defense were simply overwhelmed over the last half of the contest. The 26-year-old goalie has fallen apart in March, coughing up five or more goals in four of his 10 appearances while going 3-7-0 with a 4.11 GAA and .848 save percentage.
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Sabres' Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: Starting Saturday
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Luukkonen will patrol the visiting crease in Philadelphia on Saturday, Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550 reports.
Luukkonen's first outing since March 22 against Minnesota will end a three-game starting streak for James Reimer. Luukkonen is 23-22-4 with a 3.16 GAA and an .888 save percentage across 51 appearances this season. The Flyers are registering 2.74 goals per game, 24th in the NHL in 2024-25.
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Sabres' Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: Team struggles to provide support
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Luukkonen stopped 17 of 20 shots in a 4-1 loss to the Wild on Saturday. The fourth goal was an empty-netter
Luukkonen has been at the mercy of defensive breakdowns by the Sabres, a squad struggling with a 27-35-6 record. The team is 3-7-1 in its past 11, and UPL was between the pipes for all three victories. He's solid, but this situation is horrible for netminders, and Luukkonen will be left holding the proverbial bag most nights. Fantasy managers will likely need to pick another netminder as the season ends -- he's too risky for poolies at this stage.
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Sabres' Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: Starting in Minnesota
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Luukkonen will guard the road net Saturday against the Wild, Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News reports.
Luukkonen's won three of his last four starts despite posting an .863 save percentage in that span. Overall, he's 23-21-4 with an .888 save percentage and a 3.16 GAA this campaign. Minnesota has 2.72 goals per game in 2024-25, tied for 24th in the league.
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Sabres' Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: Concedes two goals in win
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Luukkonen saved 17 of 19 shots on goal in Monday's 3-2 overtime win against Boston.
Outside of the two goals Boston scored in the first period, Luukkonen kept Buffalo's net clean across the final 50 minutes of action Monday. With the overtime win, the 26-year-old netminder has a 23-21-4 record with a 3.16 GAA and an .888 save percentage in 50 appearances this season. Luukkonen's primary value in fantasy rests in his heavy usage for Buffalo, as he has appeared in all but five games since the calendar flipped to 2025. While he has struggled over the course of this year, Luukkonen has won three of his last four starts and is trending in the right direction. His next opportunity to take the ice is Thursday against Utah.
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Sabres' Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: Starting in Boston
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Luukkonen will tend the road twine Monday against the Bruins, per Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News.
After losing four straight games, Luukkonen has won two of his last three. Those two victories account for all of his wins in March -- he's 2-5-0 with an .854 save percentage and a 4.19 GAA across seven outings this month. Luukkonen has a favorable matchup against a Boston squad that has dropped five of its last seven contests and sits 25th in the NHL with 2.71 goals per game this season. The Finnish netminder has a 3-4-1 record, .892 save percentage and 3.96 GAA over nine career outings against the Bruins.
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Sabres' Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: Second win in last three games
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Luukkonen made 16 saves in a 4-3 shootout win over the Golden Knights on Saturday.
The ice was tilted toward Adin Hill at the other end for most of the night. Luukkonen was good when he had to be. This game was a nice rebound from the seven-goal debacle Tuesday in Detroit. UPL has two wins in his last three games, but he's been a tough play in his last eight (2-5-0). Luukkonen allowed at least five goals in three of those losses, and he was pulled in another game less than eight minutes in. This season has been largely forgettable for him, with a 3.19 GAA and an .888 save percentage in 49 starts (22-21-4).
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Sabres' Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: Looking to bounce back Saturday
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Luukkonen will get the home start Saturday against Vegas, Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News
Luukkonen will look to rebound after allowing seven goals in Wednesday's 7-3 loss to the Red Wings. It'll be a tough task against a Vegas team that's averaged 3.35 goals per game this year. Overall, Luukkonen is 21-21-4 with an .889 save percentage on the campaign.
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Sabres' Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: Crashes in Detroit
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Luukkonen made 22 saves in Wednesday's 7-3 loss to the Red Wings.
The 26-year-old netminder managed to keep things close until the third period when Detroit broke the game open. Luukkonen wasn't really to blame for the ugly result -- three of the Wings' goals came on power plays, and the Sabres' defense gave him little help on the others. Nonetheless, it was his fifth loss in six March starts, a stretch in which he's stumbled to an .855 save percentage and seen his record on the season drop to 21-21-4.
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Sabres' Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: Starting Wednesday
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Luukkonen will start in goal Wednesday on the road versus the Red Wings, Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports.
Luukkonen put an end to his four-game point streak with a 32-save performance in a 3-2 win over the Oilers on Monday. The 26-year-old will now try to take his success on the road against the Red Wings, who are averaging 2.80 goals per game. However, they have the NHL's third-best power play, converting at a 28.2 percent rate.
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Sabres' Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: Back in win column
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Luukkonen stopped 32 shots in Monday's 3-2 win over the Oilers.
He was the busier goaltender on the night, but Luukkonen stood tall to secure his first win since Feb. 25 and snap a four-start losing streak. The 26-year-old has been inconsistent since the 4 Nations Face-Off break, going 3-4-0 over his last eight outings with a 3.57 GAA and an .877 save percentage.
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Sabres' Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: Drawing home start
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Luukkonen will tend the home twine Monday versus the Oilers, per Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News.
Luukkonen has lost four consecutive games while posting an .853 save percentage and a 4.40 GAA in that span. It won't get any easier Monday against an Oilers club that sits ninth in the NHL with 3.25 goals per game this season and has won three of its last four contests. Luukkonen is 1-1-0 and has conceded 10 goals on 71 shots over two career outings against Edmonton.
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Sabres' Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: Gets no help against Cats
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Luukkonen stopped 32 of 35 shots in Saturday's 4-0 loss to the Panthers, with Florida's final goal getting scored into an empty net.
The 26-year-old netminder took his fourth straight loss, as the Buffalo offense failed to get off the plane in South Florida. Luukkonen hasn't done himself any favors of late either, posting a 4.40 GAA and .853 save percentage during his March losing streak as the Sabres sink to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
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Sabres' Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: Starting in Florida
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Luukkonen will guard the visiting net in Florida on Saturday, according to Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News.
Luukkonen has lost three straight games, allowing 14 goals on 81 shots in losses to Montreal, San Jose and Tampa Bay. Luukkonen is 20-19-4 with a pair of shutouts, a 3.14 GAA and an .890 save percentage across 45 appearances this season. The Panthers are averaging 3.25 goals per game in 2024-25, eighth in the NHL.
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