Back at practice, Sabres’ Luukkonen talks ‘silver lining’ of missing Olympics

Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen shouldn’t have been practicing with the Buffalo Sabres on Friday at LECOM Harborcenter.

Rather, he should have been overseas at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena for Finland’s Olympic semifinal matchup versus Canada, a 3-2 loss decided in the final minute, and then Saturday's bronze medal game.

• Sabres at The Winter Olympics | Schedule, stats, recaps

But after a lunging attempt at a first-period save in Toronto last month, Luukkonen, with a lower-body injury, realized he wouldn’t be making his well-earned trip to Milano Cortina 2026. Colten Ellis replaced him a few minutes later in that game, a 7-4 Sabres win, and Boston’s Joonas Korpisalo replaced him on Team Finland.

“It was kind of devastating to know that you can’t make it. It’s something that’s been back of my mind for a long time,” Luukkonen said of The Winter Olympics.

“The couple days after that were pretty miserable for me, to know that I’m gonna miss it, but the silver lining is that I’ve [had] time to rehab and be back when we start playing, hopefully.”

Luukkonen returned to practice Thursday as a full participant and still has some runway before the NHL schedule resumes next Wednesday in New Jersey – he expects to be ready to come off injured reserve.

Ellis and Alex Lyon combined for a .904 save percentage in five games in his absence, another stretch where Buffalo’s three-goalie roster proved useful, but the Sabres expect Luukkonen to play a major role in their playoff push. Starting with his Dec. 21 win in New Jersey, which Luukkonen called “a big thing” for his confidence, the sixth-year goalie went gone 7-2-1 with a .922 save percentage and 2.41 goals-against average before the injury. He allowed two goals or fewer in six of those 10 decisions.

“Obviously, he’s been a huge part of our team this year,” said forward Josh Doan. “When he’s on, he’s one of the best goalies in the league. We have a lot of trust in all of our goalies, but seeing him back on the ice is really nice.”

With Olympics off the table, Luukkonen continued rehabbing his injury while taking a mental break and seeing friends and family. Of course, he’s still been watching his fellow Finns – led by friend Juuse Saros in net – battle their way to the medal round. In Wednesday’s quarterfinal against Switzerland, Finland pulled off a late two-goal comeback before winning in overtime.

• ‘Yelling at the TV’ | Sabres feeling Olympic intensity from afar

“That’s the Finnish for you; they’re never out. I’ve been in that situation in World Juniors, Under-18s, all that; you can never count us out,” Luukkonen said. “I’m really happy for them. I kind of knew that they were gonna pull through in that game.”

In previous seasons, this Olympic absence might’ve lingered much longer, much stronger, on Luukkonen’s mind. This year, however, the Sabres occupy the first Eastern Conference wild card spot with 25 games remaining. A long-awaited playoff appearance is absolutely in play, as is a higher seed in the tournament – maybe even home ice to start the first round.

Understanding that, Luukkonen quickly shifted his focus from Finland to Buffalo.

“Mentally for me, it’s always that what happened, you can’t change that,” he said. “Go through it for a couple days, and then you start to look forward. You start to be positive about the fact that we have a huge playoff push coming here.

“I’m really happy that I’m part of the team here. We have something special going on right now, and being healthy for that again, I think that’s what, mentally, has gotten me through it.”

• Sabres return to practice with playoff push on their minds

Here’s more from Friday’s practice.

Roster updates

Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, returning from Italy, is expected to practice with the Sabres on Sunday or Monday.

Forward Zach Benson again missed practice, and the team has no further update yet; he’s still being evaluated for his upper-body injury.

• Injuries and transactions | Latest on Norris, Dunne, Timmins, others

Tuch talks Team USA

Alex Tuch was one of several forwards who attended Team USA’s Olympic Orientation Camp last August but didn’t make the roster. After a family trip to Disney World, he’s been enjoying the action – especially Tage Thompson’s play – without any bitter feelings.

“I’m friends with a lot of those guys, and I’m always gonna be rooting for Team USA,” Tuch said. “I missed it this time. Maybe there’s a next time for me. I’ve represented our country in the past, I’m always honored to do so, and I’m always cheering for Team USA.”

Up next

The Sabres are back on the ice Sunday morning, so stay tuned to Sabres.com for additional stories and injury updates as they prepare for the final 25 games.