Luukkonen holds off Pens until Girgensons late goal
Luukkonen holds off Pens until Girgensons late goal
Pekka Puts Sabres On His Shoulders
Similar to Devon Levi’s strong performance in Montreal on Thursday, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen did not have the benefit of his club putting up six goals against Pittsburgh. Alex Tuch put the Sabres up 1-0 early in the first, and the score remained that until the middle of the third. Luukkonen made 40 saves on the night, was beaten only during a Penguins two-man advantage by Rickard Rakell in the third period, and kept the game even until Zemgus Girgensons game-winner with 4:38 remaining.
Girgensons Gets Going
Veteran Zemgus Girgensons returned to the lineup on New Year’s Eve after missing five weeks, but his game-winner late in the third period was his first goal since October 24. Team captain Kyle Okposo (out week-to-week with a lower-body injury) was providing valuable secondary offense on the fourth line, and with his return date in question, the Sabres will need Girgensons and other bottom-sixers kicking in some goals to take some of the burden off the top two lines.
2-0 In ‘24
The Sabres are still two games under .500, six points out of a playoff spot, and have played the second-most amount of games in the NHL, but they have started the calendar year on the right foot with a pair of road wins, leading into a six-game homestand that will take up most of January. Half of the games are against teams below them in the standings, so this has to be the time that Buffalo has to get hot and string a bunch of games together, otherwise, their chances of closing ground in the playoff race will decrease.
LATEST THN BUFFALO STORIES
Takeaways From Victory Over Montreal