Sabres Notes: Dahlin Replaces Injured Thompson At All-Star Game, Luukkonen Named Rookie Of The Month

Tage Thompson was all ready to jump on a plane to Florida to enjoy his first appearance at the NHL All-Star game, but the Buffalo Sabres leading scorer suffered an upper-body injury against Carolina on Wednesday, which resulted in him being replaced by defenseman Rasmus Dahlin for the festivities in Sunrise, FL this weekend.

Thompson, who is third in the race for the Rocket Richard behind Connor McDavid and David Pastrnak with 34 goals this season, did not return for the third period of the 5-1 loss to the Hurricanes with what is suspected to be a shoulder injury, but reports on Thursday indicate that the injury is not expected to be long-term.

Dahlin is second behind San Jose’s Erik Karlsson in scoring by defensemen in goals (14) and points (55) this season, sits third in assists (41), and leads NHL blueliners in power-play points (24).

The Sabres at the break are one point in back of the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot with 56 points (26-20-4) and have three games in hand on the Washington Capitals, who hold the first wild-card spot with 60 points. One of the reasons for the Sabres closing the gap in the East has been the improved play of goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

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The 23-year-old in the first half was inconsistent, with a winning record but posting a sub .900 save percentage. In January, he went 6-2-1, with a 3.05 GAA and .907 save percentage and was named NHL Rookie of the Month. Luukkonen made at least 25 saves in seven of his nine January appearances, including five contests with 30 or more stops.

He made 39 saves (two shy of his career-high) in a 6-5 overtime win over Minnesota on January 7 to extend his personal winning streak to a career-best six games, the longest such run by a Sabres rookie since Ryan Miller in 2006.

Buffalo will be inactive until February 11 when the Calgary Flames visit Key Bank Center, beginning a stretch of nine games in 18 days. Where the Sabres stand at the end of that will determine whether GM Kevyn Adams will take advantage of having the most available cap space in the NHL before the March 3^rd trade deadline to end the league’s longest playoff drought.