Canucks Surrender Another Lead, Lose 3–2 To The Sabres

On Botchford Project and Lunar New Year night, the Vancouver Canucks dropped a 3–2 game against the Buffalo Sabres. Phil Di Giuseppe and Elias Pettersson lit the lamp for the Canucks. Tage Thompson, Jiri Kulich, and JJ Peterka scored for the Sabres. Thatcher Demko made his third start in a row, saving 23 of 26 shots against. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 32 saves on 34 shots for Buffalo.

This was the team’s first game without Tyler Myers all season, as the defender is currently serving a three-game suspension for his cross-check on Edmonton Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard. Mark Friedman came into the lineup in his stead, starting the game alongside Quinn Hughes. This was not the only defence pairing that shifted, however, as all three pairs had a different combination than the usual — Carson Soucy skated with Hughes’ usual partner, Filip Hronek, while Derek Forbort spent time alongside Vincent Desharnais.

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Despite their successes from Saturday night, the Canucks could not replicate a similar performance in the first period. Vancouver was hemmed in their zone for the majority of the period’s first half, forced to spend their time defending rather than generating offence. Even so, Vancouver tallied eight shots within the first frame.

Vancouver’s slow start ultimately worked in Buffalo’s favour, as an unenergized forechecking effort from the Canucks gave Thompson plenty of room to curl around Brock Boeser and shoot the puck past Demko. While Buffalo didn’t look great in the first period either, they exited the first period with a 1–0 lead.

As things have gone recently, Vancouver’s fourth line made up of Max Sasson, Nils Höglander, and Di Giuseppe got the second period off to a jump, bringing the puck into Buffalo’s zone. By keeping the puck in, they were able to set up Di Giuseppe, who slid the puck past Luukkonen after a busy scramble near the crease. This goal sparked what would eventually become an impressive period for Vancouver.

With the semi-early goal three minutes into the second frame, as well as some sustained time in the offensive zone on the power play, Vancouver pushed Buffalo hard, continuing their pressure and keeping the Sabres trapped in their own zone. Some Sabres stayed on the ice for nearly two minutes, allowing a quick change between Forbort and Hughes. The Canucks captain tore towards Luukkonen after receiving the puck at the blueline. Buffalo crammed themselves closer to their goaltender, giving Hughes the room to curl around and pass the puck to Pettersson. His seemingly effortless flick of the wrist brought Vancouver up 2–1.

Hughes has been averaging another career-high season in a variety of factors, but did you know he could also break his previous record in penalty minutes taken? He’s talented in a variety of facets, after all. The defender sat in the penalty box for two minutes after taking a holding call on Peterka. Despite Vancouver’s highest offence producer off the ice, Pius Suter was able to take advantage of a whiffed chance by the Sabres and nearly scored another goal for the Canucks while down a man.

Vancouver started their third period off with another solid penalty kill highlighted by a chance for Kiefer Sherwood and Danton Heinen that came off a fanned shot by Buffalo. The Sabres regained their legs shortly after, forcing the Canucks into a few quick dump-and-chase-esque shifts without many stoppages in play. This ended up in their favour, however, as Peterka’s hard forecheck behind Vancouver’s net gave Kulich a one-on-one chance against Demko. He tied the game up with a quick shot past Demko’s shoulder.

With the game now knotted at 2–2, Vancouver got to work in securing the go-ahead goal. The line of Boeser, Pettersson, and Jake DeBrusk pushed to get the puck in Buffalo’s zone for another goal, though they wound back up back at their own faceoff dot a few times due to icing calls. A faceoff win for Kulich allowed the Sabres to regain possession, as the puck landed on Peterka’s stick and in the back of Vancouver’s net.

A boggled pass sent Vancouver back into their own zone just as Demko was vacating the team’s net. With six players on the ice, the Canucks managed a tipped shot that only just caught the edge of Luukkonen’s pads. After a timeout to give the team a break, Vancouver pushed Buffalo to the brink, managing multiple scoring chances from Pettersson. However, despite a near goal off a rush from Conor Garland, the Canucks were unable to send it to overtime and lost yet another close game.

Facts and Stats:

• Quinn Hughes ties Alex Burrows for 19th in franchise history in points as a Canuck

• Canucks surrender the first goal of the game for the 27th time this season

• Phil Di Giuseppe scores first goal since March 9, 2024 against the Winnipeg Jets

Scoring Summary:

1st Period:

• 17:34 - BUF: Tage Thompson (21) from Jiri Kulich

2nd Period:

• 3:05 - VAN: Phil Di Giuseppe (1) from Carson Soucy and J.T. Miller

• 10:29 - VAN: Elias Pettersson (11) from Quinn Hughes and Brock Boeser

3rd Period:

• 8:42 - BUF: Jiri Kulich (8) from JJ Peterka and Rasmus Dahlin

• 13:33 - BUF: JJ Peterka (11) from Rasmus Dahlin and Jiri Kulich

Up Next:

Vancouver’s next game is a rematch against the Oilers on Thursday night. This comes after the news of Connor McDavid and Myers’ three-game suspensions, which will hold both players out of the upcoming match. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:00 pm PT.

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