Ottawa, Ontario (WGR Sports Radio 550) – The Buffalo Sabres stretched their winning streak to six-straight games thanks to their 3-1 victory in New Jersey against the Devils.

Alex Lyon was the Sabres’ goaltender in the first five wins, but it was Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen who was stellar on Sunday night, stopping 26 of the 27 shots the Devils fired at him.

Luukkonen went into the game 0-4-1 on the road, and hadn’t played since Dec. 8 when he surrendered five goals on 22 shots in just 40 minutes of work in Calgary against the Flames.

Luukkonen had only won one of his last four games, with the win coming at home and the three losses coming on the road.

Sunday was a back-to-back situation, and it looked like it in the first period. The Sabres looked sluggish, they didn’t manage the puck well, and they forced Luukkonen into several huge saves.

The best one came on a 2-on-1 when he absolutely came across his crease and robbed Arseny Gritsyuk. He also stopped Nico Hischier off another 2-on-1 rush.

Thanks to Luukkonen, the Sabres were able to escape the first period, only down 1-0.

The Sabres then took over the second period, coming out with energy from the drop of the puck and managing the puck much better, giving Luukkonen a much easier period.

The hustle they showed paid off quickly, as Rasmus Dahlin had Josh Norris in the crease and just put the puck there. Norris dug hard and got the puck loose from Jake Allen, giving him four goals and six assists for 10 points in the eight games he’s been back from injury.

Ever since they beat the Kraken in Seattle, the Sabres have been able to defend one-goal leads into the third period to get the games into the garage for the win.

The players have all of a sudden decided they need to stop being stubborn and play the game the way head coach Lindy Ruff wants them to play, and not the way they think the game should be played.

Puck management has been much better, desperation has been there, and the players back each other up when it comes to mistakes.

I would’ve started Luukkonen on Saturday at home against the New York Islanders, since his goals-against average is under 2.00 in front of the home fans. Ruff has a different philosophy, though, and it worked for two wins. He worries about Saturday on Saturday. Sunday doesn’t come into the equation until it’s Sunday.

Ruff felt Lyon gave him the best chance to win a hockey game on Saturday, and Buffalo won in a shootout. On Sunday, he felt Lyon needed a break since it was back-to-back, so he thought Luukkonen gave him the best chance to win a hockey game. Once again, he was right.

In Ottawa on Tuesday, I would think Ruff would go back to Lyon.

Ruff needed to let one of his three goalies play as the starter, and be allowed to get on a roll. Lyon got that opportunity, playing in the six-straight games. To me, that’s the difference, and it’s why in those six games, he’s 5-0-0 with a 2.17 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage.

“It feels good,” Lyon admitted. “You get a little bit of comfortability and it matters. When you haven’t played for a long time, it’s difficult, but it’s a skill that I’ve gotten much better at. And it’s something that’s kept me in the league for a long time, and now that I’m playing fulltime again, it’s like, ‘Oh, this is what it’s like to be normal again.’

“So I just try to stay in the moment and roll with the punches, and just try as hard as you can.”

I was curious if Lyon felt if he’s asked to start on back-to-back nights, is he ready for that.

“For sure,” he answered. “I’ve played a couple of back-to-backs and actually played some three-in-threes in the American League. You’ve got to be smart and careful, but the name of the Alex Lyon game is just I’m going to show up and play hard, and just move forward. That’s that.”

With three games in four nights, Ruff canceled practice on Monday. We don’t know for sure if Lyon will be back in net on Tuesday against the Senators.

Going into Monday’s NHL slate, the six-game winning streak has allowed the Sabres to get out of the cellar of the Eastern Conference and pass three teams.

The Sabres now have a points percentage of .543. The New York Rangers are at .526, the Toronto Maple Leafs are at .500, and the Columbus Blue Jackets are at the bottom at .486.

The next team above Buffalo is the Boston Bruins at .554.