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

Storylines

1. About Monday afternoon

Jack Quinn gave Buffalo an early 1-0 lead, but Seattle tied the game 27 seconds later. Tage Thompson staged a two-goal comeback to tie the score at 3-3 in the second period, but 56 seconds later Seattle regained the lead and ultimately won 6-4.

“The good thing was we fought back,” Sabers coach Lindy Ruff said. “The bad thing was that as soon as we fought back, we gave up one thing.”

“Fight” was the word of the night, as Ruff attributed the goals conceded – five to goaltender Devon Levi, one into an empty net – to Buffalo losing puck battles.

“Almost 90 percent of their chances came from us not winning a fight,” Ruff added.

Seattle had the edge in 5-on-5 shot attempts (54-50), shots on goal (31-22) and high-danger scoring chances (10-7), according to Natural Stat Trick.

2. The third line

Quinn, Zach Benson and Peyton Krebs have proven to be extremely effective third lines of late.

With this trio on the ice over the last five games, Buffalo has had a 65 percent share of shot attempts and has a 22-11 lead in scoring chances. For the season more broadly, those numbers are 63 percent and 28-15 in 49:03 minutes of ice time.

Krebs has six points (1+5) in his last 10 games following a two-assist performance in Seattle. Benson has six points (4+2) in his last 12. And Quinn has matched Jason Zucker’s eight-goal lead since Dec. 15.

All three forwards have been in and out of the lineup regularly for most of the season. Their driving play on a line along with their recent increase in scoring is a great sign for the Sabers.

3. Explore the Canucks

If the Sabres lost 3-4 in overtime to the Canucks on November 29thMuch of the postgame conversation centered around defender Quinn Hughes. The reigning Norris Trophy winner recorded two assists, including a first after controlling 3-on-3 overtime.

At 5-on-5 play this season, Vancouver had an overall 49 percent share of shot attempts and goals. But with Hughes on the ice, those numbers jump to 58 percent of shot attempts and 61 percent of goals. His 50 points (12+38) lead the Canucks by a wide margin and rank third among NHL blueliners.

Trade talks surrounding top centers JT Miller and Elias Pettersson have been going on for about a month, but they are staying in Vancouver for now. With 31 and 29 points respectively, both are well on their way to significantly missing last season’s total points (103 for Miller, 89 for Pettersson).

Forward Conor Garland scored the winning goal in overtime against Buffalo as part of a three-point afternoon. He also has 31 points (11+20), tied with Miller for second on the team.

Defenseman Tyler Myers, recently named Sabres’ Quarter-Century Second Team for his tenure in Buffalo from 2009 to 2015, will miss Tuesday’s contest due to a three-game suspension.

Vancouver has a record of 8-8-7 since the Black Friday win at KeyBank Center and is one point behind Calgary for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.