Luukkonen's 35 saves help Sabres battle back to earn a point in Montreal

MONTREAL – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made multiple highlight-reel saves and the Buffalo Sabres battled back from a third-period deficit to come away with a point in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Tuesday.

Luukkonen’s night included a point-blank stop on a Philip Danault tap-in opportunity with 3.8 seconds left in regulation, plus a breakaway save on Alexandre Texier when the Sabres were trailing 3-1 early in the third period.

His best save – and perhaps a candidate for the best stop of this young NHL season – was a sprawling glove robbery of Josh Anderson on a 2-on-0 rush during the first period.

It all added up to give the Sabres a chance to mount a comeback on a night when they weren’t at their best.

“We lacked a lot of playmaking and a lot of energy,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “Our goalie got us a point.”

The Sabres had a few circumstances going against them. They were without their captain in Rasmus Dahlin, who exited Monday’s win over Florida with an upper-body injury and is day to day, and playing on back-to-back nights against a relatively fresh Canadiens team.

Overcoming those circumstances required simplicity. All three of Buffalo’s goals came on shots from the point scored through traffic – “dirty goals,” so to speak. The first, from Olen Zellweger, put the Sabres ahead 1-0 less than three minutes into the game. The next two – one from Josh Norris and another from Zellweger – erased the 3-1 deficit in the third period.

In between those goals, however, the Sabres struggled to generate offense. The Canadiens outshot the Sabres 11-2 in the second period despite two Buffalo power plays. (The Sabres went 0-for-5 on the night with the extra man.)

“It was a night we didn’t make a lot of plays,” Ruff said. “That second period may have been one of our worst periods in a long time.”

That the Sabres were able to fight back was a testament to their belief – and to their goaltender. Luukkonen was playing on consecutive nights, having entered in relief of Colten Ellis during the first period of Monday’s win over Florida. He stopped 13 of 14 shots in that game and spoke afterward about finding his rhythm in this young season.

Tuesday marked another step forward in that regard. Luukkonen stopped 35 of 38 shots, adding another breakaway save to his ledger on Zachary Bolduc in overtime. 

Montreal scored on all three of its shootout attempts to walk away with the win, the lone blemish on the Luukkonen’s night. 

“It’s early in the season and you kind of want to turn the ship around as fast as you can and find your game,” Luukkonen said. “So, that’s maybe the positive about this. Of course you want to get the two points. Shootouts are shootouts but still, I think we could have got two tonight. But personally, I think that’s the right step forward.”

Here’s more from the game.

Zellweger’s 2-goal night

Zellweger entered Tuesday with eight scoring chances to his name at 5-on-5, second among Sabres defensemen behind Dahlin and tied for 11th among NHL defensemen (according to Natural Stat Trick).

It was only a matter of time before one (or two) found the back of the net. Ironically, his two goals both came on point shots through traffic, a departure from the types of chances he’d been creating with his skating low in the offensive zone in recent games.

Still, it was a continued trend for Zellweger, who’s looked every bit the up-tempo, highly skilled defenseman the Sabres believed they were acquiring from Anaheim this summer. In Dahlin’s absence, he skated a career-high 25:49 with a plus-2 rating.

“I really think his game is coming these last three or four games,” Ruff said of Zellweger. “Moving really well, getting to pucks, making a lot of good plays. Really what we envisioned that we thought he could be.”

Norris gets on the board

Norris turned in a strong individual effort for his first goal of the season, which ignited the Sabres’ comeback early in the third period. The forward won a battle along the wall, then weaved through defenders up toward the blue line before sending a shot through traffic.

It was a relieving moment for Norris, who’s surpassed 20 goals twice in his career and hopes to provide a similar impact this season.

“Obviously it feels good to get one and hopefully just get on a roll and help the guys,” he said. “I think that’s something I can bring to the tables and just want to keep doing that.”

Postgame sound

Up next

The road trip continues on Thursday in Toronto. Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7.