BUFFALO – James Reimer, the same goalie the Sabres lost on waivers early in the season and who regularly went a week or more between appearances as Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s backup after they reclaimed him, took over the net earlier this week.
In his most extensive action all year, Reimer, 37, backstopped the Sabres to three straight wins, posting a 2.67 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage.
In last Sunday’s afternoon’s 5-3 road win over the Winnipeg Jets, he stole two points for the Sabres, making 33 saves against one of the NHL’s powerhouses.
Now, with back-to-back road games this weekend, Reimer is expected to take a backseat to Luukkonen, who has endured an underwhelming season, for this afternoon’s contest against the Philadelphia Flyers. The veteran could spell Luukkonen again Sunday afternoon versus the Washington Capitals.
After Reimer’s dynamic performance in Winnipeg, Sabres coach Lindy Ruff kept riding the hot hand, and he played well in Tuesday’s 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators and Thursday’s 7-3 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Prior to this week, Reimer had performed inconsistently, winning just two games all season, including in his short stint with the Anaheim Ducks.
“I thought these last three games, he’s really been on his game,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said following Friday’s practice in KeyBank Center. “No pucks are going through him, and I think that’s always a sign that the goaltender’s seeing it and feeling it.”
Briefly leaning on Reimer gave Luukkonen, 26, an opportunity to take deep breath and reset in the final weeks of a trying campaign.
“It’s kind of nice to get the rest, but I feel like (I’ve been) trying to get time to work with some of the parts of my game and kind of work on some details that kind of has been missing,” he said. “But overall, it’s nothing crazy, part of the job, I guess, and Reims is playing well. Of course, he deserves to keep it going.”
When the Sabres signed Luukkonen to a five-year, $23.75 million contract following a breakout season in 2023-24, they likely never envisioned Reimer would briefly steal some playing time.
While the Finn has enjoyed some strong stretches amid his heavy workload, he hasn’t consistently showcased the form that made him one of the NHL’s elite netminders over the final months last season.
Overall, he has compiled a 23-22-4 record with a 3.16 goals-against average and an .888 save percentage in 51 games this season. He played a career-high 54 times last year.
“I like to play a lot,” Luukkonen said. “It’s been a great that they had the confidence in me and let me play a lot. But I feel like, if there’s something positive out of (the rest) … I feel like the mental part is the biggest.”
In some games, the 6-foot-5, 223-pound Luukkonen said “trying too much has been a little bit of the problem.” He also acknowledged he has sometimes been challenging shooters too much.
“You play too far out, you kind of give yourself in trouble with that,” he said. “So I feel like there’s in goaltending a lot of the mental part and the physical, or how you play, they’re connected.”
Ruff said parts of Luukkonen’s game have been good, while he has struggled in other areas.
“Not anything to do with technical, I don’t think,” he said. “It’s just you got to believe in what you’re doing as a goaltender, and get out there and do it.”
In good and bad times, Luukkonen can turn to Reimer, who has played 518 games with seven teams since entering the NHL in 2010-11.
Early in his career, Luukkonen often shared the net with goalie Craig Anderson, who was in his 40s and in the final seasons of a splendid career.
So he has greatly benefited from the respected veterans’ wisdom.
“Guys like Reims, and we had Andy here, you don’t play on this level for that long without doing things,” Luukkonen said. “So … I feel like I’ve learned a lot just by watching him (Reimer).
“But the talks we had, I feel like, it has helped me a lot kind of get through the ups and downs and learn. I, for sure, feel it’s been a big help to have him around.”
–
The Sabres on Friday signed goalie prospect Topias Leinonen to a three-year, entry-level contract that begins next season.
They drafted the 6-foot-5, 227-pound Finn in the second round in 2022, 41st overall.
He spent this season in Allsvenskan, a pro league in Sweden, compiling a 13-10-0 record with a 2.31 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage in 25 games for Mora IK.
–
Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin, 24, is expected to become the third-youngest defenseman in NHL history to the reach the 500-game milestone today.
“You think of a guy playing 500 games at 24 years old, that’s hard to really wrap your arms around, really, when defense is the toughest position to play in this league as a young player,” Ruff said.
–
Sabres winger Jason Zucker, who missed Thursday’s game for a family matter, practiced Friday.
Meanwhile, forward Sam Lafferty participated in his first full session since suffering a groin injury last week. Ruff said Lafferty’s “50-50” to face the Flyers.
The Sabres on Friday sent center Josh Dunne back to the Rochester Americans.
Stefon Diggs to the Patriots, NFL rule proposals, Lindy Ruff’s 600th win the #Sabres, whether he’s a Hall of Famer and the state of @billhoppe.bsky.social’s March Madness bracket. We discussed it all.
share.fireside.fm/episode/sMvb…— Nick Sabato (@nicksabatognn.bsky.social) March 28, 2025 at 4:55 PM