Tampa Bay’s Waltteri Merelä celebrated his first goal in the NHL. Buffalo’s Finnish goalkeeper Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen already saved his second consecutive clean sheet.
Matti Lehtisaari,
STT Sports
Tampa Bay Lightning’s Finnish newcomer Walter Merelä scored the first goal of his NHL career. Merelä was successful in the fight against the Minnesota Wild. The Florida club celebrated a 7–3 victory.
Merelä’s only shot of the match towards Minnesota’s goal went straight Conor Sheary pass to give the Lightning a 3–1 lead early in the second period. Merelä is playing his first season in North America, and the match was his 15th in the NHL.
– It was about time, that was my first thought, Merelä said on the NHL’s website.
The first NHL goal was a special moment for 25-year-old Merela.
– Of course this is pretty cool. Everyone remembers their first goal. Some guys have 500 goals and can’t remember them all, but I think they all remember their first one. It’s special, Merelä described her mood.
Merelä started his season in the NHL, but after that his path led to the Syracuse Crunch, a farm club playing in the AHL. Now he is back on the NHL again.
Luukkonen again saved a clean sheet
Finnish goalkeeper Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen shined in Buffalo’s night as he already saved his second consecutive shutout. The Buffalo Sabers represented by Luukkonen beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3–0 in their home arena.
Luukkonen blocked 19 shots in the match.
– This feels great. Especially when there was a lot of talk about our defensive game last year, but we showed how close we can play. As I said in the last game, it’s not about me, it’s about the team and the clean sheet. It will not succeed if shots are not blocked and opponents are not blocked from the goal. We played a good game tonight, and it shows on the scoreboard, Luukkonen said on the NHL’s website.
Luukkonen saved his previous shutout on Monday, when Buffalo beat the San Jose Sharks. Luukkonen made 28 saves against the Sharks.
Eeli Tolvanen scored from the drive through
Seattle Kraken Eeli Tolvanen scored a goal against the Edmonton Oilers. Edmonton won the match 4–2. Tolvanen took Seattle to a 1–0 lead in the first period of the match after his drive through.
Tolvanen has played 45 NHL games this season and collected 29 (12+17) power points.
Buffalo–Chicago 3–0
B: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen 19/19 saves
Boston–Colorado 5–2
Ottawa–Montreal 6–2
O: Joonas Korpisalo 21/23 saves
Philadelphia–Dallas 5 to 1
Tampa Bay–Minnesota 7 to 3
T: Waltteri Merelä 1+0
Washington–St. Louis 5–2
Calgary to Toronto 3–4
Edmonton–Seattle 4–2
S: Eeli Tolvanen 1+0
Los Angeles to Nashville 1–2
N: Juuse Saros 33/34 saves
Vancouver to Arizona 2–1
Vegas–NY Rangers 5 to 1