Sabres back Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as goalie worries linger

The postgame verdict from the Buffalo beat was not kind to anybody, and it still ended up in the crease.

Lance Lysowski

@LLysowski

Tough to beat anybody when you score one goal. The Sabres miss that Alex Tuch guy. But they’re not getting enough difficult saves. Weird start to their season.

Mike Harrington

@ByMHarrington

My latest from KeyBank Center: #Sabres still support UPL even amid troubling signs and lousy numbers. The goalie revealed to me GMJK spoke to him Tuesday and told him not to worry about trade rumors. "It's great that he found me and we talked about it." t.co/LCzYVDzPRT

That is the fair version of it. Buffalo scored once, and Jason Zucker had it. Cole Knuble scored the first 2 goals of his NHL career, Trevor Zegras added one on the power play right before the end of the 1st period, and a 4-game point streak was over. Lindy Ruff pointed at his shooters, saying the Sabres are 31st or 32nd in the league in missed nets. Lysowski's point about missing Alex Tuch stands too. Luukkonen's line was 23 saves on 26 shots, though, and on a night when your team scores 1, 'not enough difficult saves' is the whole ballgame.

The reason one regular-season loss gets this much attention is the noise around it. Buffalo has been linked to Connor Hellebuyck, and any version of that deal pretty much runs through moving Luukkonen. Kekalainen went on WGR 550 earlier in the week to shut it down. He said teams call about Sabres players all the time and that a phone call 'doesn't mean that we're looking to make a move.' He also called Luukkonen 'a really good goaltender that has a lot to give to the Buffalo Sabres and will be a big part of our future.'

There's a practical side to this too. Luukkonen's 5-team no-trade clause kicked in on July 1, so any trade has fewer doors open. And everybody knows the GM-backs-his-guy routine. Sometimes it's true. Sometimes it's a guy protecting his asking price. Either way, the best way for Luukkonen to end this is to steal a few games, and losing 3-1 to Philly won't do it.

Matthew Fairburn landed in a similar place the next morning. He thinks the team is good, but he sees real holes, and goaltending is at the top of the list.

Matthew Fairburn

@MatthewFairburn

I believe the Sabres are a good team. But they have a few glaring issues that could hold them back. And a 3-1 loss to the Flyers didn’t quiet the goaltending concerns. Tried to sort through that here: t.co/sjSvDnDK1w

So that's where Buffalo stands, at 4-4-2. The GM says the goalie is staying, the beat says the goalie has to be better, and the Hellebuyck talk won't go away while that gap is still there. Kekalainen gave Luukkonen a public vote of confidence. Now Luukkonen has to hold up his end, because in Buffalo the patience for goaltending questions ran out a long time ago.