Luukkonen out for Olympics, replaced by Korpisalo on Team Finland
“We really haven’t talked about [the Olympics] yet,” Ruff said Jan. 29. “We don’t want to rule it out or rule it however we have to rule it. Let’s just see where we get by early next week.”
Luukkonen was one of three Sabres chosen for the Olympics with defenseman Rasmus Dahlin (Team Sweden) and forward Tage Thompson (Team USA). He’s 11-7-2 with a 2.73 goals-against average and .903 save percentage in 21 games (20 starts) this season.
Korpisalo, a native of Pori, Finland, will join his teammate, defenseman Henri Jokiharju, and goalies Juuse Saros (Nashville Predators) and Kevin Lankinen (Vancouver Canucks) on Team Finland’s roster for his first international tournament since the 2017 IIHF World Championship. He’s 10-8-1 with a 3.12 GAA, .895 save percentage and one shutout in 21 games (19 starts).
The NHL Olympic break begins Friday. Team Finland opens the tournament against Team Slovakia on Feb. 11 (10:40 a.m. ET; Peacock, USA, CBC Gem, TSN, CBC).
