Tage Thompson extended his goal-scoring streak to three games and Rasmus Dahlin continued his dominance at Rogers Arena to lift the Buffalo Sabres to a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.
The Sabres have now won two straight road games after beginning their six-game trip 0-3-0. They have a chance to return to .500 – both on the road trip and on the season – with a victory in Seattle on Sunday.
Buffalo entered the night without three of its top forwards. Jason Zucker (week to week) and Josh Norris (day to day) both were out for the second straight game while Alex Tuch was scratched with an illness.
Thompson and Dahlin stepped up in those players’ absences, each contributing a goal and an assist. Zach Benson added his first goal of the season on the power play to break a 2-2 tie late in the second period.
Dahlin has now had multiple points in five consecutive trips to Vancouver, becoming the first defenseman in NHL history to accomplish that feat.
Alex Lyon made his first start in goal since Nov. 28 and made 29 saves. He stopped all of the 11 shots he faced during the third period, including multiple point-blank attempts as Vancouver pushed for the tying goal during the final minutes.
The Sabres finished the game with a season-high 27 blocks, led by five apiece from Conor Timmins and Tyson Kozak. Jordan Greenway dropped to the ice to block what could have been the tying goal during the final minute.
Buffalo native Trevor Kuntar – signed from Rochester to a one-year NHL deal on Wednesday – made his NHL debut and skated 5:12.
