Luukkonen gets first career shutout as Sabers beat Avalanche 4-0

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 26 saves in his first career shutout and JJ Peterka, Casey Mittelstadt, Tyson Jost and Rasmus Dahlin scored for the Buffalo Sabers in a 4-0 win over the ‘Colorado Avalanche, Sunday.

Colorado closed a three-game road trip with back-to-back shutout losses, snapping an NHL-record 15-game winning streak on the road.

Luukkonen was Buffalo’s third goaltender to start the season, but he was pressed into action due to injuries to Devon Levi and Eric Comrie.

“It’s definitely a confidence boost for me and I’ve been waiting for a long time,” said Luukkonen, who won for the second time in three starts.

The win was the Sabres’ most decisive yet, starting the season with a 4-5-0 record.

“That’s a good indicator for us,” said defenseman Erik Johnson, who signed with Buffalo after playing the last 13 seasons at Colorado. “It’s a team that knows how to win, that has won, and it’s one of the best teams in the league.”

Colorado star defenseman Cale Makar returned to the game after slide into end boards and go to the locker room during the second period.

Makar’s right knee was bent beneath his body during the collision, which occurred after Makar lost his balance while skating toward the net and was pushed from behind by Sabers forward Kyle Okposo.

“I think a lot of it is my fault, just coming back slowly, effortlessly,” Makar said. “I tried to take a step in front and I don’t know if I caught myself or what happened, but the next thing I knew I was just sliding into the boards.”

Makar remained on the ice for a few minutes and needed help from a trainer to skate to the bench. There were no penalties on the play, which frustrated the Avalanche.

“You see one every once in a while, and it’s a bad spot,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “Both guys are skating towards the back boards, it looks to me like he’s putting it on the hips right over the goal line, which you’re going straight into with two guys. I just don’t think you can hit him there. So I don’t like it. I just think it’s a dangerous game.

Colorado All-Star center Nathan MacKinnon received two-minute unsportsmanlike conduct and 10-minute misconduct penalties shortly afterward for expressing his displeasure with officials.

Alexandar Georgiev stopped 25 shots in his second loss for Colorado. Georgiev tied an NHL record with 12 straight road wins before Thursday night’s 4-0 loss in Pittsburgh.

Jeff Skinner had two assists for Buffalo, tying Dahlin for the team lead with nine points. Skinner scored Peterka’s goal midway through the first period and Mittelstadt’s goal in the opening minutes of the second.

Jost scored his first goal of the season – and first in four games against his former team – giving the Sabers a 3-0 lead 8:16 into the second period.

Dahlin extended his point streak to eight straight games when the All-Star defenseman scored into an empty net with 3:08 left in the third.

The Avalanche were shut out in consecutive games for the first time since December 2016, the season before Makar was drafted with the fourth pick.

FOLLOWING

Avalanche: Host St. Louis on Wednesday night.

Sabres: Visit Philadelphia Wednesday night.

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