SEATTLE – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen admits he took a big shot to the head, albeit unintentional, Friday night from Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin. And when the Buffalo Sabres recalled Devon Levi from Rochester on Saturday, it seemed like a major red flag on the status of their No. 1 goaltender.
Not to worry. Luukkonen practiced fully here Sunday in Climate Pledge Arena and proclaimed himself fine.
The Sabres aren’t officially tipping their hands on goaltending choices but their actions here Sunday said plenty. Coach Lindy Ruff said Luukkonen is not playing in Monday’s matinee against the Seattle Kraken, but the team clearly wouldn’t bring Levi this distance to have him serve as James Reimer’s backup. So the expectation is that Levi will get the call against the Kraken, with Luukkonen the likely starter Tuesday night in Vancouver.
“I’m good to go,” Luukkonen said. “I’ll be ready.”
What was the impact of the Malkin play?
“For a couple of seconds there, it was tough,” Luukkonen said. “That was the hardest contact I’ve taken but it was nothing crazy and I was OK the rest of the game. It was just in that moment. I’m fine.”
The Sabres’ confidence in Levi continues to be high after a good start last month in Toronto and the fact he’s 12-3-1 with a 2.33 goals-against average and .913 save percentage in Rochester.
“He’s played very well and that’s the whole point, getting games,” Ruff said. “Young goaltenders need games and he’s got a lot of games and has played very well for that club. It’s just to get another look at him here and go from there.”
Luukkonen is 14-14-4, 3.02/.896 for the season. And he’s increasingly causing concern with his penchant for allowing quick goals. He was burned for five in a 12½-minute span against Seattle Jan. 11 in KeyBank Center and gave up two to Pittsburgh in 27 seconds on Friday.
“I try to go one save at a time but of course it’s tough,” Luukkonen said. “It doesn’t matter what kind of goals they are. Those are moments that can shape the games a lot and it’s something I need to be better at. We need to be better as a team, too. If we concede one, we think about it too much and it shows in our game. We’ve slipped in that spot.”
Other practice notes
Ruff said center Ryan McLeod is doing OK after dealing with an injury from practice on Thursday that flared up in Friday’s game. Although McLeod is on injured reserve, Ruff said the team is hopeful McLeod will return on the road trip later this week.
With McLeod out, Jiri Kulich is coming back into the lineup and will center Jason Zucker and Tage Thompson
“They’re amazing players to play with,” Kulich said. “So it’s very exciting to get that chance.”
“He has played really well, skated well, moved the puck well out of his own zone,” Ruff said. “Now he’s finding people around him, too.”
Kraken has Sabres’ number
The Kraken are 6-1 against the Sabres, including their 6-2 win Jan. 11, when the Sabres frittered away a 2-0 lead after one period and collapsed in a four-goal third period. Seattle has outscored Buffalo, 34-20, in the seven meetings. The Sabres’ only win was a 6-2 win here last season.
“Play the way we did in the first period against them and don’t deviate from it,” Ruff said. “We got to the inside. Stay to the inside and look to get people around the net for those second and third opportunities instead of playing on the outside.”
The Kraken got a hat trick from Jaden Schwartz, including a goal 28 seconds after the opening faceoff, in Saturday’s 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings here that opened a stretch of nine home contests in a 10-game stretch. Their top line of Schwartz, Matty Beniers and Kaapo Kakko was dominant. Kakko collected three assists to push his career-long point streak to five games. He has 13 points in 14 games since being acquired Dec. 19 from the New York Rangers.
“It can’t be understated with the line ... what they keep doing for us night in and night out,” Kraken coach Dan Bylsma said. “The last couple, it’s been dictated by the Matty Beniers line and ‘Schwartzie’ demanding the game right away.”
