The Buffalo Sabres are expected to start Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in net after Alex Lyon allowed nine goals in his last two games. The team made effective use of its tandem during a memorable regular season.
MONTREAL – The Buffalo Sabres are set to make a goaltending change heading into Game 4 of the second round against the Montreal Canadiens, going from Alex Lyon to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
Luukkonen started the playoffs for the Sabres in their first-round series against the Boston Bruins, but he was pulled in favor of Lyon, who posted a 1.21 goals-against average and .952 save percentage in Games 3 through 6 to help propel the Sabres to the next round.
After a strong Game 1 against the Canadiens, Lyon gave up nine goals over the next two games, which prompted Ruff to make a change.
Luukkonen confirmed that he'll be starting after the Sabres' morning skate while speaking with the media on Tuesday.
"I'm excited," Luukkonen said. "This time of year is all about winning, so I'm excited to go back there and help the team win."
This goaltending switch shouldn't come as a surprise. Throughout the regular season, Luukkonen and Lyon split time, with both goaltenders starting 34 games each.
Using Luukkonen and Lyon has proved to be a winning formula for the Sabres, and Ruff is sticking to the team's winning formula in the playoffs with the hopes of turning around the series.
"It's what we are. It's what we've been the whole year," Ruff said of the Sabres' goaltending rotation.
Lyon, who started just 26 games with the Detroit Red Wings compared to Luukkonen's 55 with Buffalo during the 2024-25 season, has eased his way into a co-starting goaltending role.
"He's a true professional. He's intense," Luukkonen said of Lyon. "He wants to win as much as anybody else, and so do I. He's played good hockey this year. Personally during the regular season, I've had good games too. I think the partnership this season has been working really well."
The last time Luukkonen played was on April 21, and he's now being thrown into the fire in what is essentially a must-win game for Buffalo to avoid going down 3-1 in this second-round series.
Luukkonen didn't appear to be worried about potentially being rusty after three weeks off.
"Just sticking to what you know what works," Luukkonen said about how he prepares after a lot of time off. "Kind of getting comfortable with your game, trusting your own game, trusting your own stuff. There's no point of changing anything at this point in the year."
The Sabres also appear to be making two other lineup changes ahead of Tuesday night's game.
Rookie forward and 2024 first-round pick Konsta Helenius is expected to make his playoff debut. During the morning skate, Helenius centered a line alongside Jack Quinn and Jason Zucker, in place of Sam Carrick, who was wearing a non-contact jersey and did not skate on a line.
Helenius played in nine games for the Sabres during the 2025-26 campaign, recording four points. Buffalo recalled him after the Rochester Americans were eliminated from the AHL playoffs.
"I'm just happy I can play and show that I can help the team win, and play my own game," Helenius said.
Luke Schenn also skated on a defensive pair with Conor Timmins in place of Logan Stanley.
The 36-year-old defenseman has not played since April 15, but Ruff expressed "experience" as the reasoning if Schenn were to slot into the lineup.
Schenn won two Stanley Cups as part of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021, while playing in 58 playoff games over the past 13 seasons.
"It's experience," Schenn said. "It's not the first time I've been in this situation where you just have to stay patient and stay ready. It happened to me in Tampa the first year for sure; I don't think I played at all in the first series and got going in the second series. You work with the coaches, work with the extras and keep yourself as ready as you can."
Time will only tell whether these lineup changes help the Sabres flip the script of this series or whether their fate will remain the same from the previous two games.
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