The Vancouver Canucks (42-18-8) continue the March homestand, preparing with intensity and focus for the arrival of their expansion cousins, the Buffalo Sabres (32-31-5) on Tuesday evening at Rogers Arena.
Tuesday’s affair will be game four of a nine-game homestand for the Canucks. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Sabres will be playing game three of a five-game road trip. The Sabres face the Kraken on Monday night – meaning that Tuesday’s game will be the second game of back-to-backs for Buffalo.
After a couple of hard practices, the Canucks are refining their game, building on what they’ve accomplished up to this point in the season, but knowing what it will take much more work with so many meaningful games on the March calendar.
Every team is looking at this part of the season as the most important. It could be a team playing for the chance to make it into the playoffs, playing to win their division, or individuals playing for their next contract. Every player who touches the ice in the next five weeks has something to gain and something to lose.
The Sabres are currently sitting five points out of a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference and this current road trip will make an enormous difference to their hopes of sneaking into postseason play.
Through 33 away games, the Sabres hold a 15-14-4 record and have been good in third periods. On the road, the Sabres have scored 43 goals in third periods while only allowing 31 this season. Their road record when scoring first in the game is 8-3-1 but they have allowed the first goal against in 21 of their 33 road games.
Leading the way offensively is 23-year-old defenceman Rasmus Dahlin. The sixth-year pro is following up his 73-point season from 2022-23 with a strong offensive performance in 2023-24. Dahlin has matched his career-high in goals with 15 and has hit double-digit even-strength goals for the second time in his young career.
Dahlin is averaging 25:46 this season while he has been primarily partnered with Henri Jokiharju or Mattias Samuelsson on the Sabres’ top pairing. Since the Sabres traded for Bowen Byram, Dahlin and Byram have been running as the Sabres’ top pairing, with Dahlin moving to the right side.
Quick Hits on the Competition:
- The Sabres won all three games on their most recent homestand but now have one of their toughest road trips of the season.
- They are 8-4-1 over their last 13 games and are continuing to push for a playoff spot.
- Sabres starting goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is getting the call on Monday night in Seattle and according to their head coach Don Granato, recent call-up Devon Levi is “in all likelihood,” going to start on Tuesday.
- The Sabres have the 26th-ranked power play and are clicking at 17.1% on the year. They have scored a power play goal in each of their last two games and are led by Jeff Skinner and Tage Thompson, who have eight power play goals apiece.
- On the penalty kill, the Sabres rank 16th with a 79.1% kill rate. They have scored six shorthanded goals this season.
The Canucks return to work this week with their minds set on continuing to build on their structure and get some momentum going in the final stretch of the season.
The team had a long practice on Monday with every single player spending time after the practice getting extra shots and working with the coaching staff on individual skills.
Playing disciplined has been a focus of the team and they have done an excellent job staying out of the box over their last six games. The Canucks have taken a single penalty in five of their last six games.
Carson Soucy’s addition to the penalty kill has been helpful since he returned from injury. Soucy has the lowest goals against per minute played on the penalty kill this season and his combination of hockey sense and long reach make him an important piece when the team is down a man.
Elias Pettersson skated with a new linemate at Monday’s practice. Conor Garland joined Pettersson and Nils Höglander on a line that is looking to bring energy but also have some finish in a top-six role.
Pettersson likes the way that Garland grinds for pucks and called Garland’s playmaking one of the best parts of his game.
Canucks’ Top Performers over Last Five:
Quinn Hughes: 1g-5a-6p
J.T. Miller: 3g-1a-4-
Elias Pettersson: 2g-2a-4p
Nils Höglander: 1g-3a-4p
Brock Boeser: 1g-3a-4p
Tuesday night’s game is a 7:00 pm PT start, and you can watch the game on Sportsnet. If you are looking for the radio broadcast, look no further than Brendan Batchelor, who will have you covered on play-by-play with Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet Radio Network.
