Though the Sabres have not been 10-wins-in-a-row hot, they’ve been very good since the beginning of December. Since Dec. 9, the Sabres are 16-3-1, most recently having beaten the Nashville Predators on the road 5-3.
Thursday night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens was critical for several reasons, biggest of which being that the Sabres entered just four points back of the Canadiens for the third spot in the Atlantic Division. The Sabres responded with a short offensive outburst that was enough to carry them to a huge 4-2 win.
The Redemption of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
The biggest story from this game is the performance of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. He was the difference on Thursday night, turning aside 32 of 34 shots from the Canadiens, allowing the Sabres to get the late empty net goal to put the game away.
Luukkonen has been outstanding in his last 10 games, finding a groove that many wondered if he would ever hit again. Aside from a four-goal performance against the Columbus Blue Jackets and a five-goal performance against the Minnesota Wild, Luukkonen has been outstanding.