3 reasons Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is a legitimate Vezina candidate
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has been arguably the Buffalo Sabres best player this season, and he is the reason they are hanging onto playoff contention.
Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s record isn’t impressive, as through 44 games and 41 starts, he’s 23-17-3. That is a far cry from what Sergei Bobrovsky of the Florida Panthers has attained, or even Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets.
Other potential candidates like Thatcher Demko of the Vancouver Canucks, and Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers, among others, have outshined Luukkonen in the win-loss-overtime loss category. But overall records are bad stats, as Bobrovsky, Hellebuyck, Demko, and Shesterkin are playing for much better teams.
You can also say the same for goaltenders in a timeshare role, like Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins or Adin Hill of the Vegas Golden Knights. But Luukkonen has beaten all of the above in one or more categories this season. And if he continues his current pace, there is an outstanding chance he ends the year with strong consideration for the Vezina.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen deserves to be a legit Vezina candidate
This isn’t saying Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen should win the Vezina, as he hasn’t helped the Sabres sit in a playoff spot at this point. But, given the state the team has been in, plus the fact he’s improved arguably more than any other goaltender in the NHL this season, there is a case to be made here.
This also isn’t even implying Luukkonen is the Sabres future No. 1 goaltender, as Devon Levi still has a higher ceiling. Levi may not have played well in Buffalo this season, but let’s look at what he’s done since going to the AHL: Through 19 games, Levi has a 2.52 GAA plus a 0.927 save percentage, and Luukkonen never reached those numbers during his time in Rochester.
But in 2023-24 terms, Luukkonen has by far been the better goaltender, and the only way Levi is climbing back into the role is if he takes the job from him. For 2024-25, Luukkonen has already made such an endeavor difficult, not only because he’s played better than we all believed but also because he’s been an elite goaltender for much of the season.
Luukkonen has put an average team in playoff contention
The Buffalo Sabres have a modest 71 points through 69 games, but they are somehow still in playoff contention. That’s remarkable enough, but when you realize this team has fought its way back into contention not because they’re putting pucks in the net, but because of Luukkonen’s net presence, that realization alone makes him an upper-echelon goaltender.
Through 69 contests, the Sabres have just 207 goals for, and they are averaging just three per game, good for 19th in the NHL. Adjust that number at the same rate for the last 13 games, and you get a modest 246 goals, exactly 50 fewer than what they scored last season.
As for goals allowed, the Sabres are 12th in the league at 204, averaging 2.96 per. Through 41 starts and 44 games, Luukkonen has allowed 101 of those goals. Think about that for a minute, and allow me to reiterate: Luukkonen has allowed 101 of the Sabres 204 goals in 41 starts and 44 appearances.
Devon Levi and Eric Comrie have allowed a combined 92 goals, with the rest coming via an empty-netter. Levi and Comrie have a combined 29 appearances and 28 starts, and if you do the math, these two have allowed 3.17 per appearance. As for Luukkonen, that number is 2.29 per appearance.
Luukkonen is one of the league’s most productive goaltenders
This one’s obvious when you look at overall statistics of goaltenders who have played in at least 20 games. In this cluster of netminders, Luukkonen is fifth in GAA with 2.39, and third among goaltenders who have played in at least 40 games, with only Bobrovsky and Hellebuyck ranked higher.
But that’s not all, as Luukkonen is also tied for 11th in the league in save percentage with Charlie Lindgren of the Washington Capitals at 0.915. It gets so much better, as Luukkonen spent his first 18 games played this season with a 7-8-2 record, an 0.892 save percentage, and 51 goals allowed before he finally got it together for 2024.
Since January 6th, we have seen Luukkonen in 26 games, allowing just 50 goals while posting a 0.930 save percentage. He also had a 16-9-1 record in that span, and it’s no coincidence that when he started producing, the Blue and Gold became a better hockey team.
Last season, Buffalo won in spite of Luukkonen playing more games as the No. 1 goaltender than he deserved. But this year, the Sabres are winning in spite of their so-so play with the puck and sensational play from their goaltender.
Luukkonen warrants more consideration than goalies who posted more shutouts
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s five shutouts put him third in the NHL, tied with Thatcher Demko, but when you look at the goaltenders ahead of him, they pale in comparison to the 25-year-old. Tristan Jarry and Connor Ingram have six shutouts apiece, but Jarry boasts a solid but unspectacular 0.906 save percentage and a 2.79 GAA. Ingram’s 0.910 save percentage is one of the better in the league, but his 2.81 GAA is impressing nobody.
You can argue the Sabres are a better overall team than the Pittsburgh Penguins (Jarry) and the Arizona Coyotes (Ingram), but the Blue and Gold have consistently ranked near the bottom of the league this year as well. Further, Arizona held a playoff spot before the new year, while the Penguins are still a better team on paper, with Sidney Crosby and company refusing to slow down.
Further, Luukkonen has posted better overall statistics than players like Ilya Sorokin, Igor Shesterkin, Pyotr Kochetkov, Stuart Skinner, Charlie Lindgren, Juuse Saros, and, to a degree, some of the other top goaltenders listed earlier in this piece. Once again, this doesn’t mean Luukkonen deserves to win the Vezina, but he more than deserves top-10 consideration.
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