BUFFALO – Sabres coach Lindy Ruff loves goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s ability to fight through difficult situations.
Luukkonen looked a bit wonky in his first three appearances this season, posting a .782 save percentage. While a porous defense played a part in compiling that ghastly number, he hardly stood out.
In the past week, he has lost starts to Colten Ellis, who began Monday afternoon’s game against the Florida Panthers sporting a save percentage nearly 100 points higher.
Not that Ellis had been lights out. He had simply been better than Luukkonen.
When Ellis struggled early in Monday’s game, Ruff, whose Sabres had lost two straight games and sorely needed a win, turned to the Finn with the game tied at 2 in the second period.
“Two pucks went through our goalie again, and just felt that we just needed a save,” Ruff said.
Luukkonen slammed the door, stopping 13 of the 14 shots he faced as the Sabres pulled away from the Panthers and won 5-3 before a capacity crowd of 19,070 fans in KeyBank Center.
“We got exactly what we needed,” said Ruff, whose Sabres closed a five-game home stand and improved to 3-3-0 this season. “He made a couple really big saves for us, made a couple great saves late.”
Luukkonen, who played the final 33:34, said said it helps he did not have too much time to think about the game jumping off the bench cold.
“The team played well in front of me and was kind of easy to get into it,” he said.
Luukkonen will likely play Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens, the start of a three-game road trip.
Ruff acknowledged he detests pulling goalies. But after Seth Jones’ point shot leaked through Ellis’ pads on the power play and Sam Reinhart buried it, he had to make a move.
Anton Lundell also beat Ellis through the pads in close in the first period, tying the game at 1.
Luukkonen looked sharp throughout his relief appearance, only allowing another power-play goal to Reinhart that tied the contest at 3.
“He’s battled ups and downs, and I’ve seen him come out of him and play really well,” Ruff said of Luukkonen. “Not easy. I mean, it’s not easy pulling goalies during a game. It’s not a decision I really like, but we have to … win hockey games.”
Luukkonen said he felt more comfortable Monday than he had in his earlier outings.
“I don’t think it’s a huge thing or any one big thing or anything like that,” he said. “It’s kind of getting comfortable with the flow of the game and the flow of your own game and kind of finding key points, positioning yourself better, giving yourself a better chance to get to the puck. I think it’s something that just comes over time.”
Ruff said Ellis, who has received early action as goalie Alex Lyon recovers from a shoulder injury, is “gonna be a big part of our group.”
“He’ll get back in there, he’ll have to battle,” he said. “It’s no different than any other players. You struggle a bit, you got to bounce back and come with a better game.”
The Sabres, who had been outscored 8-1 during their two-game skid, responded with the best start this season, showcasing the speed that made them a lethal offensive threat last year.
Josh Doan zoomed down the right wing and beat goalie Jacob Markstrom from the right circle 5:58 into the game, his first goal this season.
“A little bit of relief to just see something go in the net right now … so it was good to see and good to build off,” Doan said. “I think after that we kind of got rolling a bit there.”
Early in the contest, the Sabres held an 8-1 shot advantage.
“It was our best start,” Ruff said. “Moved the puck well. We got pucks to the net. We got there for second opportunities. I think the shots were seven or eight to one after seven or eight minutes. We got to loose pucks, but I thought we skated well, moved to puck well. And in the six games so far, that was probably our best hockey game.”
The power play, which ended a zero-of-13 stretch to start the season in Saturday’s 4-1 loss to the Utah Mammoth, tallied twice.
Captain Rasmus Dahlin scored on a one-timer 15:55 into the first period before leaving the game with an upper-body injury early in the second.
After center Ryan McLeod’s scored his first goal this season in the second period, Noah Ostlund scored on the man advantage 7:15 into the third, connecting in front after some nifty passing to make it 4-3.
“There was numbers saying that we should score (on the power play),” Ruff said. “I thought those first couple we solved pressure.”
Center Tage Thompson sealed the game at 13:20.
Notes: After sitting out as healthy scratches Saturday, forwards Konsta Helenius and Jiri Kulich returned to the lineup. To make room, the Sabres scratched Sam Carrick and Justin Danforth. … The Sabres also scratched defenseman Matt Grzelcyk. … The Sabres also play Thursday against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Saturday in Montreal.
