'He's unbelievable' | Sabres earn 1st win for Luukkonen in Winnipeg

Rasmus Dahlin has produced his share of "wow" moments with a puck on his stick - a couple of which came during the Sabres' 4-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.
Yet even Dahlin had to marvel at the recent exploits of goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
"He's unbelievable," Dahlin said. "When we need him, he does those crazy saves. He's so calm in the net, he makes confidence in our D zone a lot better. He's for sure a huge part of the success."

Dahlin scored a pair of goals to help deliver Luukkonen's first NHL victory of the season at Canada Life Center. Anders Bjork and Jeff Skinner also scored while Victor Olofsson had a pair of assists.
It was a well-deserved outcome for Luukkonen, who entered having come up winless in three straight starts despite stopping 90 of 96 shots. He added 32 saves on 34 shots against the Jets, improving his save percentage to .939 - fourth among all goalies who have appeared in an NHL game this season.
Granato spoke Tuesday morning about the team's method for assessing the 22-year-old goaltender, whose name has been on the radar of Sabres fans since he took the OHL by storm in 2017-18, one year after he was drafted by Buffalo during the second round.
The plan coming out of training camp was for Luukkonen to shoulder the starting job in Rochester, a decision made with his development in mind. That was still the plan as recently as early December, when Dustin Tokarski entered COVID-19 protocol and the Sabres acquired Malcolm Subban to partner with Aaron Dell
Subban sustained an injury during his debut (he was activated off injured reserve before the game against the Jets), clearing the way for Luukkonen to get a look with the Sabres. What he's done in four games since has been impressive enough to stick around, though not at the expense of development.
"How he responds to adversity is really key for any young player, and you don't want them in a situation where they're overwhelmed or feel overwhelmed which could stunt further development or delay further development," Granato said prior to the game against the Jets. "So, we're really watching that in how we engage when we go into each game for him. If you don't see that, he's in a really good spot."
Luukkonen's latest response - this one coming off a 40-save shootout loss against Washington on Saturday - was resounding once again. He robbed Mark Scheifele on a one-time attempt during a 13-save first period. He made two diving stops on a 3-on-1 rush during the second period before he was finally beaten on a one-time shot from Nikolaj Ehlers.

But more than any highlight-reel moment, Granato found excitement watching the 6-foot-5 heavyweight command his crease.
"He was aggressive," Granato said. "He actually got in some physical confrontations with guys in his crease that I loved, fought for his space. That's a progression for me, that attitude that, 'I have ownership of this. I'm not just here for a holiday.' I like all of that in his game."
So long as he keeps developing, he may own this job well past the holidays.
Now, onto more notes from the victory over the Jets.

Behold … the vision!

Dahlin offered a hint of what was to come during his very first shift on Tuesday, carrying the puck deep into the offensive zone and just missing a wrap-around attempt.
It wouldn't be long before he made good on a chance. Dahlin drew a tripping penalty later in the period, then proceeded to cut to the slot and bury a shot off the crossbar on the ensuing power play. He deked to create a shooting lane from the point for his second goal, which bounced in off traffic with 38.4 seconds remaining in the second period.

It was the first multi-goal outing of Dahlin's career, though it didn't come without adversity. The defenseman lost an edge during the shift that ended with Ehlers' goal, as Granato alluded to after the game.
"But that's what happens," Granato said. "I mean, he's a great player and he's going to make more plays than he's going to give the other team. And that's going to be a progressive thing. Tonight was a real good vision into his future, really. I mean, that was a vision into his future and capabilities. Nice to see."

No worries for the Thompson line

Granato has a prescient moment pregame when asked about the line of Skinner, Olofsson, and Tage Thompson, which had gone quiet of late. He said the trio had continued to do the right things and that goals would eventually follow.
They came Tuesday. Thompson was jockeying for position in front of Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck when Dahlin scored his second, helping to create the net-front havoc that led to the goal. Skinner gave the Sabres an important insurance goal during the third period, beating Hellebuyck across his body on a 2-on-1 rush with Thompson on the other side.
"Tonight, it was evident that I didn't need to worry about them," Granato said. "They were very good for us tonight."

Beating the streak

The Sabres snapped a seven-game winless streak, which had continued with a pair of tight losses at home on Friday and Saturday. An incorrectly overturned goal cost them at least a point in a loss to the Rangers, followed by a shootout loss to the Capitals.
Granato could sense those results stuck in the team's collective craw at practice on Monday. It fueled their focus against the Jets, which finally combined support and attention to detail defensively with a high-output night on offense. Recently, they had only had one or the other.
"Even the goals for, the possession, (we were) much more focused on finding our guys rather than worrying about their guys," Granato said. "A lot of times you turn pucks over when your scope is on the other team. Tonight, we were looking past our opposition and finding our options. There was a calm to our game and a presence with the puck, which was nice to see. It's hopefully a sign of growth."

Up next

The road trip continues in Minnesota on Thursday. Coverage on MSG begins at 7:30 p.m. The puck drops at 8.