No matter who you talked with, it looked like Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen had the inside edge to be the 1B.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was supposed to be that guy in 2023 – that guy to take advantage of a full offseason of work, capitalize on what was supposed to be a “competition” with Eric Comrie, win the 1B/Backup job behind Devon Levi, and the rest would at least be recent history.
Except that Luukkonen did nothing to reassure the Sabrehood that he would be a reliable 1B/Backup. No, the Sabres 5-2 loss to Toronto wasn’t entirely Luukkonen’s fault, as he faced 28 shots on goal while the Sabres only logged 15 in the entire contest. But still, that first goal he allowed was one he should have learned how to stop two seasons ago, and he apparently hasn’t figured it out yet.
Regardless of who you follow on Sabres-related social channels, you’re going to hear or read subjective takes on the last two goals. But here’s my take: Whether you think the Sabres hung Luukkonen out to fend for himself or not, he needs to stop at least one of those eventual goals, and he let them both in. And thank goodness he didn’t face what Levi dealt with in a 20-second span, or else he would have allowed at least another one into twine.
Buffalo Sabres have a controversy over who will play backup goaltender
Before I go any further, I can’t stress enough that this is an overreaction/postgame piece, so take it with a grain of salt. But if I were to compare the performances of Comrie and Luukkonen after they both played in a pair of periods so far in the preseason, Comrie had the better outing, and he has the clear inside track for the job.
Luukkonen and Comrie will have at least one more crack at it, or at least that’s what logic tells me. And Comrie could be one solid performance away from winning the role, so the pressure is ON for Luukkonen at the moment.
And admittedly, Yours Truly had a lot of faith in the 24-year-old, and I insisted here at Sabre Noise countless times that Don Granato and Company need to stick with him. But at this point, Granato needs to put the team in the best position to win, and if Luukkonen can’t help out the cause, then he can’t play for this hockey team.
(Statistics provided by NHL.com)