Luukkonen laments miscue on ‘bad bounce’ for Sabres in Game 2 of East 1st Round
Pavel Zacha scored again for Boston less than two minutes later, and Viktor Arvidsson added his second goal of the game 16 seconds into the third period to make it 4-0, chasing Luukkonen from the net.
“When you kind of start to question yourself and stuff like that, then you get the bad bounces,” Luukkonen said. “It’s unfortunate but got to play through it.”
Ruff opted to keep Luukkonen in net to start the third, but replaced him with Alex Lyon after the fourth goal.
“Just felt that there may be a chance we’re going to need him,” Ruff said. “May play next game, but just get him a period of play, because he hasn’t played in a while. When (Arvidsson) scores there, it’s an opportunity to get him a little bit of action.”
After spending most of the season in a rotation with Lyon, Luukkonen established himself as the Sabres’ No. 1 goalie when the NHL returned following the break for the 2026 Winter Olympics. He had earned a spot on the Finland roster, but a lower-body injury sustained on Jan. 27 forced him to withdraw from the opportunity to represent his country.
Luukkonen went 11-2-1 with a 2.21 goals-against average and .920 save percentage down the stretch to help the Sabres to the Atlantic Division title. He finished the regular season 22-9-3 with a 2.52 GAA, .910 save percentage and one shutout in 35 games (34 starts).
As the series shifts to Boston for Games 3 and 4, Luukkonen knows he has to put Game 2 behind him.
“For me, personally, of course, I have to be ready for that game,” he said. “They don’t necessarily shoot too many pucks; they kind of just wait for their chance and flip high pucks behind our team. So, just taking the lessons away from these first two games and knowing how they play. We just have to be ready for it.”
