The Vancouver Canucks are back on the road and in action against a surging Buffalo Sabres team on Tuesday night.
Elias Pettersson, Jake DeBrusk and Linus Karlsson are a newly assembled line that has been off to a hot start in their first two games as a trio. They have played 18:28 of ice time together, have controlled 78.1% of the shot attempts, and have been on the ice for 21 scoring chances for and have not given up a scoring chance against.
The line has done a good job of breaking the puck out of their own zone and establishing possession in the offensive zone.
“Yeah, we’re just trying to become connected,” said Pettersson. “All three of us come with speed through the neutral zone. So, it’s not one guy coming with speed and two guys standing still on the far blue line. It’s easy to play with them, and I’m just trying to do my part.”
Quick Hits on the Competition
- The Sabres were on a 10-game winning streak before losing to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.
- They are 21-15-4 this season and are 20th in the league for goals scored and 16th for goals against.
- Tage Thompson leads the Sabres with 20 goals and 37 points through 40 games played.
- Alex Lyon has been the primary starter this season. He is 10-6-3 with a .906% save percentage, a 2.82 goals-against average, and has one shutout.
- Rasmus Dahlin leads the team with 24:12 of average ice time per game. He has four goals and 28 points this season, ranking him 17th in defenceman scoring.
- Jason Zucker leads the Sabres with five power play goals this season, and he has only played in 21 games.
- The Sabres’ power play ranks 22nd in the league and is clicking at 18% this year.
- On the penalty kill, they rank 2nd in the league and have killed off 85.2% of their penalties. They have also added three shorthanded goals, two off the stick of Ryan McLeod.
The Story: Prepping for Buffalo
As the Canucks embark on their longest road trip of the season, they have their sights set on a red-hot Sabres team that can score a lot and has defended well recently.
“They’ve been hot. They’re a desperate team. They got a lot of skill and a lot of speed. I feel like, whenever you play Buffalo, it can turn into a track meet, and they’re very good at that,” said Canucks defenceman Marcus Pettersson.
“We’ve got to keep the game simple and force them to defend down low.”
The team has kept it close at five-on-five recently, and three of their last four games have required overtime.
Canucks’ Top Performers over the Last Five Games
Filip Hronek: 1g-3a-4p
Linus Karlsson: 3g-1a-4p
Elias Pettersson: 2g-1a-3p
Drew O’Connor: 2g-1a-3p
Jake DeBrusk: 1g-2a-3p
Tom Willander: 1g-2a-3p
When and Where to Watch
Tuesday’s game is at 4:00 p.m. PT, and you can watch the game on Sportsnet or listen to Brendan Batchelor’s radio call on Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet Radio Network.
