Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen hasn't been better in goal for the Buffalo Sabres
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen hasn't been much better in goal for the Buffalo Sabres when Devon Levi is there. They needed at least one of them to play well and neither has.
Again, without good goaltending, you can't win. Their goaltending has been extra bad. Luukkonen is looking like someone who might not be suited for a full-time role in the NHL. He is close to turning 25 and has made 58 career starts (62 appearances).
This season, he is 6-8-1 with a 3.17 GAA and a .893 save percentage. Those are right on par with his career 26-27-7 record with a 3.38 GAA and .896 save percentage. It just isn't good enough for Buffalo.
This shouldn't all be pinned on the goaltending but if they even had league-average goaltenders right now they would be much better than 13-17-3.
It will be interesting to see if they will be the next team to fire their coach. That is something that has sparked a few other teams this season but the players just mostly haven't been good enough. These three get the most blame right now.