Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen - Page 2 - NHL News & Rumors

Guarding goal Friday Luukkonen will guard the home goal versus the Blackhawks on Friday, Heather Engel of NHL.com reports.

Impact This will be Luukkonen's first action in four games and his first start since Nov. 6 versus the Blues. He's fallen out of favor a bit in a crowded crease, but the Sabres' goaltending battle hasn't really had a standout participant yet. Luukkonen has posted an .883 save percentage over four contests and may be challenged heavily by the Blackhawks' offense.

NOVEMBER 21 • ROTOWIRE

Gets hefty workload in relief Luukkonen allowed three goals on 30 shots in relief of Alex Lyon in Thursday's 6-3 loss to the Avalanche.

Impact A report earlier in the day had Luukkonen as the starter, but fantasy managers who didn't get him out of their lineups still got an appearance from the Finnish netminder. Lyon lasted just 6:10 into the game before he was pulled for performance reasons, and Luukkonen did a fair job in relief. However, Luukkonen did end up with the loss, falling to 1-2-1 on the year while allowing a total of 12 goals on 103 shots. The Sabres' crease is up for grabs with Luukkonen, Lyon and Colten Ellis all in contention for starts, though wins may remains rare for this struggling team.

NOVEMBER 14 • ROTOWIRE

Isn't starting Thursday Luukkonen won't start in Thursday's road game against Colorado despite a previous report to the contrary, per Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550.

Impact Luukkonen has a record of 1-1-1 with a 2.90 GAA and an .877 save percentage in three appearances this season. Alex Lyon is expected to start Thursday. Colten Ellis is also on the active roster, and Luukkonen is seeing limited work despite appearing in over 50 games in each of the previous two campaigns.

NOVEMBER 14 • ROTOWIRE

Set to start Thursday Luukkonen is expected to start on the road against Colorado on Thursday, per Michael Augello of The Hockey News.

Impact Luukkonen has a record of 1-1-1 with a 2.90 GAA and an .877 save percentage this season. He missed the start of the campaign due to a lower-body injury, but he's appeared in just three of Buffalo's past eight games since returning. Buffalo also has Alex Lyon and Colten Ellis on the roster, which has contributed to Luukkonen's light workload. A solid start against Colorado would help him in his fight for a bigger role, but the Avalanche are an extremely difficult adversary -- they're 11-1-5 and rank first in goals per game with 4.00.

NOVEMBER 13 • ROTOWIRE

Zero help from teammates Luukkonen made 14 saves in a 3-0 loss to St. Louis on Thursday.

Impact Luukkonen didn't face much rubber and honestly he wasn't stellar. The Sabres continue to have an odor to their game, and UPL hasn't been able to solve that problem since he returned from injury. Lukkonen is 1-1-1 with a 2.91 GAA and .877 save percentage. This could be a rough season.

NOVEMBER 7 • ROTOWIRE

Tending twine Thursday Luukkonen will patrol the home crease for Thursday's matchup with the Blues, Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald reports.

Impact Luukkonen has appeared in two games for the Sabres this season in which he posted a 1-0-1 record to go with a 3.33 GAA. The 26-year-old backstop has reached the 50-game mark in each of the prior two years and may still have enough time to hit that threshold this season, despite missing nearly a month of the 2025-26 campaign due to injury.

NOVEMBER 5 • ROTOWIRE

Battles for first win Luukkonen stopped 31 of 34 shots on goal in Saturday's 4-3 shootout win over the Capitals.

Impact Luukkonen's second start of the season got off to a shaky start, as he allowed two goals in the first two and a half minutes. Outside that mark, he was nearly perfect, allowing just one more goal across regulation and overtime en route to the shootout win. Luukkonen now has a 1-0-1 record with a 3.33 GAA and a .877 save percentage in two games this season. The return to the win column for the 26-year-old netminder should ship away at the fantasy value of fellow goalie Alex Lyon, who has a 3-4-2 record through nine games this season. Luukkonen will likely be the team's top-option between the pipes moving forward, giving him solid fantasy value once the volume starts to match his totals from seasons past. His next chance to take the ice is at home Tuesday against the Mammoth.

NOVEMBER 2 • ROTOWIRE

Between pipes Saturday Luukkonen will patrol the home crease versus Washington on Saturday, Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550 reports.

Impact Luukkonen has fared well against the Capitals in his career, posting a 5-1-2 record with a 2.91 GAA and a .904 save percentage. Luukkonen has made only one start this season, as he suffered a lower-body injury during training camp. He allowed four goals on 23 shots in an overtime loss to Toronto on Oct. 25.

NOVEMBER 1 • ROTOWIRE

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen among Buffalo Sabres with huge opportunity against Washington Capitals The Buffalo Sabres have gotten points in five straight games, which is a positive, but have lost three straight games in overtime. When cons...

NOVEMBER 1 • SABRENOISE.COM

OT loss in season debut Luukkonen made 18 saves Saturday in a 4-3 overtime loss to Toronto.

Impact He had missed the first eight games of the season with a lower-body injury. Luukkonen was solid, but he'd like the third goal back. Dakota Joshua cut across the slot and shot past the netminder's glove from the left face-off dot. UPL's return to the ice creates a logjam in net for the Sabres, and his name has been murmured in a possible deal with the Oilers. Keep your ears open on this one -- Luukkonen's value would fly up in that system.

OCTOBER 26 • ROTOWIRE

BUF@TOR: Joshua scores goal against Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | Toronto Maple Leafs Dakota Joshua (TOR) scores goal against Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (BUF) to make it 3 - 3

OCTOBER 25 • NHL.COM

BUF@TOR: Maccelli scores goal against Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | Toronto Maple Leafs Matias Maccelli (TOR) scores goal against Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (BUF) to make it 2 - 1

OCTOBER 25 • NHL.COM

BUF@TOR: Robertson scores goal against Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | Toronto Maple Leafs Nicholas Robertson (TOR) scores goal against Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (BUF) to make it 1 - 1

OCTOBER 25 • NHL.COM

Tending twine Saturday Luukkonen will guard the road goal against Toronto on Saturday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

Impact Luukkonen will make his season debut because Colten Ellis (undisclosed) is unavailable. The 26-year-old Luukkonen had a 24-24-5 record with two shutouts, a 3.20 GAA and an .887 save percentage across 55 appearances during the 2024-25 regular season. After missing the first seven games of the year due to a lower-body injury, he was the backup netminder behind Alex Lyon in Friday's 5-3 win over the Maple Leafs.

OCTOBER 25 • ROTOWIRE

Off injured reserve Luukkonen (lower body) was taken off injured reserve Thursday, per the NHL media site.

Impact Luukkonen hasn't played for Buffalo yet this year because of the injury, but he was sent to AHL Rochester for conditioning and stopped 21 of 23 shots for the Americans on Wednesday. Luukkonen has completed his conditioning stint in addition to being taken off injured reserve, so he should be an option for Friday's home game against Toronto. Colten Ellis might be sent to the minors to avoid having three healthy goaltenders on the NHL roster, and Luukkonen will likely compete with Alex Lyon for starts.

OCTOBER 23 • ROTOWIRE

Back from assignment Luukkonen (lower body) was recalled from his conditioning assignment with AHL Rochester on Thursday.

Impact Luukkonen started for the Americans in Wednesday's clash with AHL Syracuse, stopping 21 of 23 shots in a win over the Crunch. Barring any setbacks in his recovery, the 26-year-old backstop could make his 2025-26 season debut versus the Maple Leafs on either Friday or Saturday. Luukkonen has reached both the 50-game and 20-win thresholds in each of the last two seasons and should be capable of hitting those marks again this year.

OCTOBER 23 • ROTOWIRE

Sabres' Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen gets major injury update as Buffalo awaits return of starting goalie | Sporting News Buffalo could use this return sooner rather than later.

OCTOBER 22 • SPORTINGNEWS.COM

Headed for conditioning stint Luukkonen was reassigned to AHL Rochester on a conditioning assignment Tuesday.

Impact Luukkonen figures to get the start for the Americans in Wednesday's matchup with AHL Syracuse, though he could stay in the minors a little longer. At a minimum, the netminder shouldn't be expected to suit up for Wednesday's clash with the Red Wings. In the meantime, Alex Lyon figures to continue seeing the bulk of the starts for the Sabres.

OCTOBER 21 • ROTOWIRE

Shesterkin stops 37 shots, Sullivan gets 1st win as Rangers' coach in 4-0 victory over Sabres

Igor Shesterkin stopped 37 shots and Alex Lafreniere’s first-period goal stood up as the winner in the New York Rangers’ 4-0 victory over the Sabres in Buffalo’s season-opener

OCTOBER 10 • Associated Press

Sabres' Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen injury update means new starting goalie for Buffalo | Sporting News Important news on opening night.

OCTOBER 9 • SPORTINGNEWS.COM

Moves to injured reserve Luukkonen (lower body) was placed on injured reserve Monday.

Impact Head coach Lindy Ruff said Friday that Luukkonen would be re-evaluated in a week. The Finnish netminder has already been ruled out for Opening Night versus the Rangers on Thursday, and the club will likely utilize extreme caution with its No. 1 netminder, especially considering he is dealing with a lower-body injury.

OCTOBER 6 • ROTOWIRE

Officially ruled out Thursday Luukkonen (lower body), as expected, was officially ruled out against the Rangers on Thursday, Heather Engel of NHL.com reports.

Impact Luukkonen was expected to miss at least a week to open the season, so his absence for Opening Night shouldn't come as a surprise. With the 26-year-old backstop on the shelf, Alex Lyon looks poised to feature in Thursday's clash -- though head coach Lindy Ruff hasn't officially named a starter. Despite missing the early part of the year, Luukkonen should still reach the 50-game threshold this year as the Sabres' No. 1 option in the crease.

OCTOBER 6 • ROTOWIRE

Sabres starting goalie Luukkonen expected to miss season opener with lower-body injury

Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff anticipated opening the season next week without starting goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who suffered a lower-body injury in his preseason debut

OCTOBER 3 • Associated Press

Set to miss at least one week Luukkonen (lower body) will be re-evaluated in a week, Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News reports, effectively ruling him out Opening Night against the Rangers on Thursday.

Impact Head coach Lindy Ruff clarified that Luukkonen's injury is a new issue and not the same one that kept him out of training camp. With the 26-year-old backstop on the shelf, it will likely be Alex Lyon who gets the nod versus the Rangers, though Alexandar Georgiev should also be in the mix. Barring an extended absence, Luukkonen should still be capable of reaching the 50-game mark for the third straight year and putting up around 25 wins.

OCTOBER 3 • ROTOWIRE

Won't dress Friday Luukkonen (lower body) will not be available against the Penguins on Friday, Heather Engel of NHL.com reports.

Impact With Alex Lyon already confirmed as the starter for Friday's preseason finale, it shouldn't come as a surprise to see Luukkonen being held out completely while Alexandar Georgiev serves as the backup. The priority for Buffalo will be getting the 26-year-old Luukkonen healthy in time to face the Rangers in the season opener at home Thursday.

OCTOBER 3 • ROTOWIRE

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Shesterkin stops 37 shots, Sullivan gets 1st win as Rangers' coach in 4-0 victory over Sabres

Sabres starting goalie Luukkonen expected to miss season opener with lower-body injury