Luukkonen makes 28 saves in loss to Maple Leafs

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen continued his strong end-of-season run with a 28-save performance, but the Buffalo Sabres fell 4-0 to the Toronto Maple Leafs in their penultimate game of 2024-25 at KeyBank Center on Tuesday.

The game – for the first 55 minutes – was a tightly contested goalie dual between Luukkonen and Anthony Stolarz, who finished with a 35-save shutout.

The Maple Leafs’ final three goals all came within the last five minutes, beginning when Mitch Marner scored at the back door with 4:21 remaining for his 100th point of the season. Auston Matthews added an empty-net goal, followed by a breakaway score for Nicholas Robertson.

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff pointed to Robertson’s late goal as particularly frustrating given the fact that it came at Luukkonen’s expense.

“He gave us a great effort,” Ruff said. “Great effort. It looked like he was dialed in and played really well. … I hated the fourth goal, because he gave us a good game.”

Ruff spoke Tuesday morning about the importance of Luukkonen finishing strong after an up-and-down season for the 26-year-old goaltender. Luukkonen has started a career-high 55 games but only played three of the last 13 contests entering Tuesday, due in part to a strong run of play from veteran James Reimer.

Luukkonen made 17 saves to defeat Boston on April 6, then stopped 32 of 34 shots in a shootout loss in Florida in his most recent start this past Saturday. His performances in those games earned him the nod against the Maple Leafs.

Luukkonen attributed his recent play to restored confidence and improved play as a team. The Sabres had won their last seven home games prior to Tuesday and, though they lost to the Maple Leafs, played a strong defensive game against a high-octane offense.

“I feel like I’m playing a little bit deeper again and making the right reads, trusting my own game rather than just kind of playing the puck carrier too much,” Luukkonen said.

“Of course, I got bailed out a couple times by our D-men today, so they did a great job today, too. But I feel like the trust in my own game over the couple last games has been way better than before.”

Luukkonen sprawled to his left to make a glove save on a Matthews one-timer with the game tied 0-0 late in the first period. He stopped William Nylander on a breakaway early in the third, holding the score at 1-0 in favor of Toronto.

“Upie played really, really well tonight,” Jason Zucker said. “Kept us in the game for a long time. We didn’t capitalize, and then we gave up too much at the end of the game.”

Buffalo had its own chances turned away by Stolarz, whose night included eight high-danger saves (according to Natural Stat Trick). He turned away a power-play deflection by Zucker to prevent the tying goal in the third period, then stopped JJ Peterka on the rebound.

The late goals against overshadowed what had been a solid, patient defensive effort by the Sabres against the Atlantic Division champions.

“The bulk of the chances (for both teams) weren’t great plays going up ice, because a lot of people were back,” Ruff said. “And I think the good teams play like that. You look at the top teams, the play away from the puck has to be strong. I thought what we did tonight for 55 minutes gave us a great opportunity to win a hockey game.”

Here’s more from the loss.

1. The Sabres were without forward Beck Malenstyn, who missed the game with an undisclosed injury. Isak Rosen was recalled to take Malenstyn’s place in the lineup and skated 7:00.

2. Alex Tuch moved within one blocked shot of the NHL single-season record for a forward (111), set by Mathieu Dandenault in 2006-07. The statistic has been recorded since 2005-06.

Earlier Tuesday, Tuch was named as Buffalo’s nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy.

Up next

The Sabres conclude the season at home against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday. It will be Fan Appreciation Night at KeyBank Center, with the first 15,000 fans in attendance receiving an Alex Tuch bobblehead.

Find the full rundown of giveaways and programming for Thursday here.

Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7.