“No Reason To Back Down Now” | Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen After Fifth Shutout Win | Buffalo Sabres
You keep yourself going when you you don’t see any pucks I mean your your team’s playing so well which I know you love seeing and how hard they were playing but you’re standing back there took you almost what eight nine minutes to see your first Puck uh how do you
Keep yourself into it um I don’t know it’s kind of um just trusting yourself you know I’ve been in this spot before and um you know it’s not too far time when we played last time so if I go 9 minutes without a shot doesn’t make me a
Worse goalie so you know it’s as long you don’t get into your own head it kind of um you know I’d rather see our team play that well than you know taking you know hundreds of shots in the first what does that do for you to see them come
Out the way they came out to play as well as they played the last two games of the starts that they’ve had it’s great and um it kind of I feel like it really shows how much it means to everybody uh how much we want to win how
Much we want to make the playoffs and make the push here um you know it’s it’s been a long year to this point and there’s been ups and downs but but you know I feel feel like as a group we kind of you know try to focus to a one game
At a time now and uh just just you know try to make most out of it Don talks a lot about how he senses you guys are playing much more Fearless now do you just feel there just not the pressure on you guys or in your minds that maybe
Existed earlier in the season yeah I I feel so I think said before this I feel like as a group you see there’s nothing to lose now uh it’s not like at the start of the Year fear make mistakes you know it’s now it’s you know do or die I
Guess so you know um there’s no reason to kind of uh back down now we try to you know make the plays and make you know um the right stuff to win the games and kind of uh the pressure has been there the whole season and you know it’s
In the end it’s kind of how we deal with it and uh right now I think we we’ve been just playing as you say forly and just really really confident you are now second in the NHL and shutouts what does that mean to you means me uh means a lot you know um
Kind of finding my footing in the net and just you know kind of proving to myself too that you know I’m an NHL caliber goalie and I can I can handle the starts and uh you know also overall just how how well we have played as a
Team you know I always say it feels good you know uh play in this team play with these guys uh you know I known a lot of them a long time now so you know it means a lot to me that you know we kind
Of get um you know the success kind of on those these games we we deserve and like you said it’s been a lot of starts but to be performing so consistently at this level and build the confidence and trust you have with the guys in front of
You how much does that take off your shoulders as you guys storm ahead uh it means a lot you know that talk we want to play Confident fly and there’s nothing to lose now and I feel the same way uh all I want to do is kind
Of help the team to win uh all we want to do as a team is to win so um it feels good to have the confidence from the guys and you know I I try to try to be um you know make most out of that
Confidence and be the be uh be the one you know can make the stops and help the team to win and on top of the the pressure being off how much did getting through the trade deadline change things here you got the result you found out
Who was coming who was leaving it was over there wasn’t any more talk about it getting through that how much did that helped this team yeah it’s it’s kind of good I feel like going to the trade later line you know I think people try
To make reachs um what the team is doing at that point what they make what the trades are and like is are they quitting or are they trying to make it I think in in the locker room you know the whole year as I said we all we want to do is
Win all we want to do is make the playf as you know as does every other team and kind of getting through that point now uh you know team is set now uh there’s no no more changes at it so kind of you know getting through that and now you
Know the all the focuses you know U at the game in had and you know try to try to win the next one I know Mike bales of course is here every day but when you see Craig Anderson pop in from time to time do you still use him as a resource
Yeah I do it’s a it’s a pleasant prise every time I see him you know he’s not as grumpy as he used to be when he was playing so it’s great to see him every time and you know it’s it’s just one of those things which you know um playing
With those guys you kind of appreciate it more uh once they’re not in the locker room anymore uh you see how they deal with things how they do things and you know you kind of try to feed off from that uh and now now you kind of see
Why why they have had those successful careers and why they have played so many games in this level so you know every time I see him we talk a little bit and he just you know gives me a couple tips here and there and sees you know tells
Me what he sees so he’s really good to see him every now and then where is your calmness and your control in the game coming from now because you’re just unfaced by everything that’s going on around you uh I feel like you know in past couple years um I don’t know what
Would be a good way to say it but you know we as I said hockey is everything and you know I it’s the thing I love the most in the world but in the end it’s just hockey you know um you know it’s just you you can’t really um be too mad
About things or you know go too high or go too low uh you know it’s just when I come to the rink I try to do things as best as I can I know I’m good call I shown it this year and you know uh it’s
Not just going to wiish in in one night you know it’s still there and just kind of trying to trust myself and knowing that I played well two day two nights ago why couldn’t I do it today you know you know and I think there’s nothing that can change in between you know
Those two days so in the end you know I I just you know I I just try to enjoy the great locker room we have and you know as I said I I enjoy playing Behind these guys thanks you thank
Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen speaks to the media after shutting out the New York Islanders in a 4-0 win. Luukkonen saved all 21 shots and recorded his fifth shutout of the season.
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3 Comments
UPL out here saying he wants to prove he's an NHL-caliber goalie 😭 UPL, you could be argued as a potential Vezina finalist, get this man a long-term contract!
That is one confident young man, I always trusted this guy ever since he beat Canada in the WJC. Nice to see that his hard work & perseverance is being rewarded.
lets go buffalo!