Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen pulled off a historic save for the ages in last night’s win over the New York Rangers.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen pulled off an incredible save in the Buffalo Sabres epic upset win last night over the New York Rangers, and it will immediately cement his spot in team history. This was a save similar to what the likes of Dominik Hasek, Ryan Miller, and Marty Biron used to pull off, to name a few, and those clips are still played to this day.
Therefore, 20 years from now, you will see the save Luukkonen snagged posted to highlight reels, and it won’t be limited to just the Sabres. This was one of those saves that caught the NHL’s attention, so perhaps it’s premature to limit it only to Sabres lore. If you missed last night’s game, you will probably see it on all sports media outlets, but for convenience, feel free to give it a look below:
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with the best name and also best save of the game! 🙅♂️ pic.twitter.com/fAMLsWQoII
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 28, 2023
Buffalo Sabres goaltender’s historic save was a ‘tip of iceberg’ moment
Last night, Luukkonen’s unforgettable denial was just one of many big stops he made; stops that he was never consistent with snagging this time last year. Facing an elite team like the Rangers was often a guarantee that Luukkonen would allow at least four goals, forcing the Sabres to score at least five if they were to win.
While he boasted a 17-11-4 record in 2022-23, Luukkonen’s 3.61 GAA and 0.891 save percentage left a contingent of fans demanding a replacement for the current season. But he managed to impress the only people he needed to: the Buffalo Sabres front office, and he stuck around in what has become a three-man rotation.
So far in 2023-24, Luukkonen has a 0.918 save percentage, a 2.54 GAA, a 0.667 quality starts percentage, and a 6-3-1 record. He has been the team’s best goaltender lately, and it doesn’t look like he’s slowing down anytime soon.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)