MONTREAL – The Buffalo Sabres have made 4 goalie swaps, together with mid-game switches in every of their final two playoff video games, and nonetheless stay in place to win the second-round, best-of-seven sequence in opposition to the Montreal Canadiens.
After falling behind 3-1 early in Saturday’s Sport 6, after which storming again to win 8-3 on the Bell Centre, the Sabres can dismiss all of the goaltending chaos as irrelevant as they put together for a winner-take-all Sport 7 at KeyBank Middle on Monday night time.
“There’s no distinction in preparation,” stated netminder Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen, who stopped all 18 photographs he confronted in reduction of starter Alex Lyon on Saturday. “You put together the identical means each recreation. You must be able to go. That’s why there’s two goalies.
“I really feel like that’s been the story of the entire 12 months. As a staff, all people, when their likelihood comes or once they’re wanted, they’ve stepped up.”
Lyon, who began the primary three video games of the sequence earlier than shedding the web to Luukkonen for Video games 4 and 5, allowed three targets on simply 4 photographs by way of the opening 10:14 of the sport earlier than he was given the hook.
“In a recreation like this, it simply felt Al wasn’t seeing it,” stated Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff. “I simply turned to UPL (Luukkonen) to see if he might help us out and he did. From that time, he most likely made 4 or 5 actually good saves that saved them off the board.”
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Luukkonen felt assured as he entered the sport, believing he didn’t have a complete lot to lose.
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“Whenever you get put in, it doesn’t actually matter what number of photographs you see,” stated Luukkonen. “You simply attempt to discover a technique to get comfy within the web and be prepared for the subsequent shot. I really feel like, as a goalie, you type of should suppose that you just’re virtually taking part in with home cash at that time.
“You type of need to simply do your greatest to assist your staff win. You’ll be able to’t overcomplicate issues. You must go only one shot at a time.”
Luukkonen began the primary two video games of Buffalo’s first-round playoff sequence with the Boston Bruins, however was yanked 16 seconds into the third interval of Sport 2 along with his staff trailing 4-0.
The Espoo, Finland native rode the pine for seven straight video games till being referred to as upon in Sport 4 of this sequence final Tuesday. The 27-year-old made 29 saves in his staff’s 3-2 win that night time, however was pulled in favour of Lyon after two durations in Sport 5.
It was, due to this fact, Lyon beginning Saturday’s Sport 6, an outing that was short-lived.
“You could have to have the ability to type of simply by no means get too low, by no means get too excessive,” stated Luukkonen. “Each recreation is totally different and a brand new one. You’ll be able to’t actually drag these video games alongside. You might want to know what you probably did mistaken and what you might want to do higher.”
Regardless of the goalie change early within the recreation, Ruff was not dissatisfied along with his staff’s general play to start out the sport.
“I assumed we performed a hell of a primary interval,” stated Ruff. “We simply didn’t win the scoresheet battle.”
Whereas the Sabres might have been trailing 3-1 on the time of Luukkonen’s entry into the sport, ahead Jason Zucker believed his staff was a sufferer of a pair unfortunate breaks.
“They (Montreal) had one aim on an influence play, one other off the faceoff,” stated Zucker, who scored the primary of seven unanswered targets for the Sabres after the goalie change. “General, we type of favored what we have been doing. We would have liked to maintain it going, keep on our toes and we did that.”
The Sabres have already began turning their sights to Sport 7.
Whereas Buffalo has received simply two of their six residence video games these playoffs, they continue to be assured of their capability to shut out the sequence in entrance of their followers and ebook their spot within the Jap Convention remaining in opposition to the rested Carolina Hurricanes.
“It’s going to be superior,” stated Tage Thompson, who collected 4 factors in his staff’s Sport 6 win. “It’s a brand new expertise for lots of fellows on this room and one thing you dream of rising up. We knew, going into this sequence, it was going to be an extended one. They’re staff. I feel it’s simply one thing that will get you excited. It’s one other recreation that we get to embrace.
“I feel if you happen to would have requested each man in right here, in September, if they’d have taken being in Sport 7 of Spherical 2, all of us would have signed up for that. We’re in an amazing spot and now it’s only one recreation. It’s all that issues.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Could 16, 2026.
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