Is a pivot to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen the move needed to swing series for Sabres?
The Buffalo Sabres are making a desperate move in order to get back in their series against the Montreal Canadiens.
It was revealed on Tuesday, after morning skate, that Ukko-Pekka Lukkonen will be back in net for the Sabres for Game 4 of the Atlantic Division Final. The Finnish netminder takes the place of Alex Lyon, who replaced UPL during the first round, helping Buffalo eliminate the Boston Bruins.
However, Lyon has struggled over the past couple of games against the Habs, allowing nine goals across Games 2 and 3. He gave up five on 36 shots on Sunday night, putting the Sabers in a 2-1 hole heading into the second game at the Bell Centre.
On Tuesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton discussed whether the move to start UPL over Lyon is the right move.
Carter Hutton: Ideal in this situation. I think it’s a spark…Alex Lyon has been great..but they’ve done this all year, and I think that’s the important factor here. There’s been a spin cycle of three guys. UPL has a very big upside. He’s a streaky goalie. If he gets hot, this could be a lot of potential. I don’t think this is Alex Lyons’ fault by any means. I think you just look at some of the situations. Just like when they went to Lyon over UPL, it was a spark for this team. I think that’s what they’re trying to find because right now Montreal has the momentum.
It’s an important factor in this series. And if you go down [3-1], this is a very, very big game here. If they go down to that, it feels like it’s over. … If UPL can come in, rested, get them where they need to go, and maybe, maybe you go 2-2 and then maybe UPL again. Even if you lose that one, you have Alex Lyon ready to come back. He could manage it. This is a huge, huge game tonight for the Buffalo Sabres.
Tyler Yaremchuk: This is the game to do it. If you think UPL is a guy who can get hot for a week and get you back in the series, absolutely. If you lose this game and he doesn’t play well, you go back to Alex Lyon with your season on the line. It’s pretty simple.
You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…