Sabers vs Canucks | How to Watch, Lineup Notes and Storylines

Storylines

1. Ready to use straight away

Buffalo posted a 12-12 record in penalty kills during the three-game stretch in California. Still, the PK units were overloaded and the team returned home with the intent of improving discipline and avoiding shorthanded situations.

“It’s a key area – discipline,” Ruff said after Wednesday’s morning skate. “We have had some careless penalties and sticking violations that we really need to escape from.”

The Sabers responded this evening with a penalty-free performance against Minnesota, their first such game since December 4, 2021 in Carolina.

Yes, Buffalo lost 1-0 on Wednesday despite staying outside the penalty box, but constant pressure in the offensive zone and skating performance limited the potential for the unforced penalties seen in California.

“They have a dangerous power play – if we give them the power play, it will give them life,” Tage Thompson said after the Wild game. “I think underage is an indication of (not) moving your feet. I thought we had a good lead tonight and when you do something like that you don’t normally get a penalty.”

2. Stick with it

Results aside, the Sabers were encouraged by their scoring ability against the defensively strong Wild. After Kirill Kaprizov’s 4-on-1 goal in the first period, which was the result of too many Buffalo skaters rushing to the net, the Sabers applied constant offensive pressure without giving up many odd attacks the other way.

“We didn’t put ourselves in a position to suddenly waste crazy chances and make it a two-goal game,” Ruff said. “The chances were definitely there to get at least a point from the game.”

A night of pressure culminated in a last-minute 6-on-5 scramble in front of Minnesota goaltender Filip Gustavsson, with Buffalo narrowly missing several prime scoring opportunities.

“Sometimes you face a hot goalie and you just have to find a way,” said forward Alex Tuch. “We will learn from this experience and move on next time and find a way. We have some really strong opponents in front of us, so we have to draw a line in the sand here.

3. Explore the Canucks

Like Minnesota, Vancouver has had success on the road this season, posting a .800 (8-2-0) record on the road at Rogers Arena – including an eight-game road win streak before Wednesday’s loss at Pittsburgh.

Much of that success is due to goaltender Kevin Lankinen, who went 8-0-0 with a .941 save percentage and 1.62 goals against average in eight road games. His work in net behind a solid defense has kept the Canucks (11-7-3) afloat during the absence of Thatcher Demko, who is nearing his return from knee surgery in April.

“It shows you the strength of the team and the type of work the coach (Rich Tocchet) has done there with that group that you can lose a guy like that and still win hockey games,” Ruff said.

Vancouver also doesn’t have a 103-point scorer in forward JT Miller, who remains away from the team for personal reasons. In his absence, a revamped top lineup, with Elias Pettersson centering off-season additions Jake DeBrusk and Kiefer Sherwood, has outscored its opponents 5-1 at 5-on-5 in seven games together.

Reigning Norris Trophy winner Quinn Hughes leads the Canucks – second among NHL defensemen with 23 points.

“I think they’re a lot like us — some mobile defenders, they have a little depth in their scoring options and they defend hard,” Ruff said.