Luukkonen will defend the home goal in Saturday's preseason contest against the Penguins, per Heather Engel of NHL.com.

Luukkonen will get the nod to play in the Sabres' preseason finale before Buffalo opens their season on Thursday. The 27-year-old backstop looked sharp in his lone preseason outing, where he stopped all of the 13 shots he saw in a 5-1 win over Columbus. He played just two periods in that game, so Luukkonen could be in line to play all of Saturday's contest as a ramp-up outing ahead of the regular season. He is expected to serve in a time share alongside Alex Lyon and potentially Colten Ellis to begin the 2026-27 season.