Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen's performance is going to continue to be a hot topic for Buffalo Sabres fans, as he once again gave up four goals in a game. He has now given up at least three goals in each of his starts this season. However, one teammate believes it isn't all on him.
In fact, Josh Doan went as far as to say that his teammates owe him an apology after Saturday night's game against the Washington Capitals, which they lost 4-3 in overtime.
"Upie [Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen] has been unbelievable. I think that there's not much you can ask for on the goals against tonight and I think that's become a common theme," Doan said. "We've let him down, and I think everyone in this room knows that we've let him down."
"I think we all owe him a huge apology right now."
All of the Buffalo Sabres struggles can't be pinned on Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
There is no question that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has not played great but he also shouldn't be blamed for all of the Buffalo Sabres' problems to begin the season. Luukkonen has given up three or more goals in every start this season, but the Sabres are also only averaging 2.75 goals scored in his starts.
The Sabres have also taken a significant step backward on their penalty kill at only 69.2%, which is down over 10 percentage points from last season. Meanwhile, their power play continues to be one of the worst in the league at 10.5%, which is the second-worst in the NHL and only 0.2% ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks.
This is not to dismiss Luukkonen's performance to this point, and there have been moments when they have needed him to step up. A perfect example was the shootout loss against the Montreal Canadiens, where Luukkonen surrendered goals on all three attempts he faced. Since the Sabres were shooting second, it ended the game before Buffalo could even take their final attempt.
The Sabres' goalie has been under the microscope with all the Connor Hellebuyck rumors to begin the season. The prevailing belief was that Hellebuyck would solve all their problems, and he might have helped, but if the Sabres continue to have these defensive lapses, it might not have helped as much as fans want to believe.
Right now the problems for the Buffalo Sabres run deeper than just one position group. It is a collective problem that everyone needs to own. That is probably what Josh Doan was trying to convey because Luukkonen has been the focus but the skaters in front of him need to do better.
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