Greenway scores 3 points, Luukkonen saves 33 in 7-0 win over Kings

Jordan Greenway and his fellow penalty killers huddled as they awaited a defensive-zone faceoff with 39 seconds remaining in the Buffalo Sabres’ game against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday. The Sabres’ 7-0 victory was well in hand regardless of what happened while Connor Clifton served a delay of game penalty during the final minute.

They had done just about everything right to that point, beginning with a dominant first shift from the line of Greenway, Casey Mittelstadt, and Alex Tuch. They were determined to finish it right, too.

“We did it,” Greenway said. “… We did what we needed to do to not only get the win, but solidify it.”

Greenway blocked a shot with 37 seconds remaining, followed by a second blocked shot from Dylan Cozens later in the shift.

The effort preserved a 33-save shutout for Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, making him the first Sabres goaltender since Ryan Miller in 2011-12 to earn four or more shutouts in a season. Greenway scored two goals and added an assist while JJ Peterka, Rasmus Dahlin, and Tuch had a goal and an assist each.

Kyle Okposo and Zach Benson also scored goals. It was a bounceback performance by the Sabres, who had scored two goals in two home losses since returning from the bye week despite outshooting their opponents by a combined margin of 82-56.

They held a competitive, battle-heavy practice on Monday and entered their game against the Kings intent on setting the tone with their speed from the opening puck drop. “We set the bar high tonight,” Greenway said.

“We talked about it before the game. We wanted to set it high, make them go on their heels first, push them and try and continue it throughout the entire game.

I think we did a pretty good job of it.”