The Buffalo Sabres have a major decision to make in the crease ahead of tonight’s winner-take-all Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens.
Following a chaotic Game 6 that saw the Sabres erupt for an 8-3 victory to force a deciding match, all eyes are on the net. Starter Alex Lyon suffered a brutal outing on Saturday, getting pulled midway through the first period after surrendering three goals on just four shots. This came on the heels of a shaky Game 5 performance where Lyon allowed five goals on 23 shots.
The early hook proved to be a turning point. Head coach Lindy Ruff turned to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who completely stabilized the crease. Luukkonen turned aside all 18 shots he faced in relief, working as a brick wall while Buffalo’s offense rallied from a 3-1 deficit. While Ruff has yet to officially name his starter for tonight, Luukkonen’s flawless relief appearance makes him the logical candidate to receive the nod with the season on the line.
Additional playoff notes:
- On the other side of the ice, Montreal forward Joe Veleno appears to be tracking toward a return. Veleno was a participant at morning skate and looks available to re-enter the lineup for tonight’s crucial matchup, providing the Canadiens with some valuable bottom-six depth and versatility.
- Out west, the Vegas Golden Knights have some mixed injury news. Forward William Karlsson was spotted on the ice practicing, a highly encouraging sign for his availability moving forward. However, it wasn’t all good news, as both Mark Stone and defenseman Jeremy Lauzon were absent from the practice. Their ongoing absences remain a significant storyline to watch as the postseason progresses.
It’s been a series of mistakes, And, Self inflicted wounds, Unforced errors if you will, Two clubs who are anything but ready for prime time, At certain long stretches during the series it appeared that both teams were trying to lose. Most of it falls on the bad coaching on both sides.
Doesn’t seem to be too hard of a decision for Ruff to make after the last game. UPL it is.
God bless you Wilf. Your aimless babbling never gets and your Grapes persona seems to have kicked things into another gear! Attempting to see things from your perspective is a fascinating thought experiment.
Couldn’t agree more. I gave Wilf waaaay too much credit when I called him a halfwit.
Will Lindy Ruff win coach of the year, And, Be fired this summer? I also can’t wait to see how Martin St.Louis fares in the land of the giants, Both really bad coaches!
Why would they ever fire Lindy??? That team played great, completely dominated. Sometimes you lose. It’s not Lindy’s fault lukkonnen let in a soft goal.
You do realize my beloved Sabres made the playoffs for the first time in 14 years? That’s not a fireable offense by any means. Should be given keys to the city lol. Just kidding of course.
Much of the credit should go to the upper management team because when that changed the team changed. I’m not sure how it happened, but it did.
I guess attitude is everything? same personnel, same coaching staff, but suddenly things clicked for the better. Something for me to note personally, hint hint.
Sabres played great. They’re a player away… very serious decisions to be made about Tuch. Maybe they should let him walk?
Agreed. Tuch’s been great, but he disappeared a little bit here in the postseason?
He’d be a big loss but they have youngsters ready to step in I think.
Let him get paid elsewhere and continue to allow the new president to work his magic.
So long as you can get someone worthy of that major salary, then you have to let Tuch walk. It will be a major loss both on the ice and in the locker room, so unless you have someone else you can get of equal or greater ability, you might have to try and pay the man… but when you start talking a number of 10 mill or more, I’m a big “hell no!” 8-8.75 mill max, 5 years max.
Buffalo goes into round 2, forces game 7, and to OT. It was a great run for them. If you can’t appreciate just how far you’ve come, try being a Redwings fan.