Hungry for a win, Sabres eat 26 pucks to beat Canucks

VANCOUVER – Following Thursday’s 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena, as the Buffalo Sabres analyzed their first regulation road victory of the season, the same word kept coming up.

“We just played so desperately; I think that was pretty evident,” goaltender Alex Lyon said. “In the third there, they pushed really hard – got to give a lot of credit to them – but the guys did a great job of locking down the house.”

Echoed forward Zach Benson, whose first goal of the season proved to be the game winner: “Just desperation. You see (Jordan) Greenway go down for a block there, (Tyson) Kozak had a couple – there’s more than that. It just shows the character in this room and the character of those guys. And it just lifts our whole bench when you’ve got guys diving in front of pucks like that.”

Added coach Lindy Ruff: “Gutsy effort. … Incredible desperation. The block by Greenie, the block by Kozak. Everybody was all invested in trying to win that game.”

The Sabres blocked a season-high 26 shots, including 16 while defending a one-goal lead in the third period. The Canucks threw everything they had at Lyon, but only 11 of their 33 third-period shot attempts made it there.

Check out some of the best blocks from that third period, especially Greenway’s with 1:08 on the clock and Kiefer Sherwood blasting one toward the open net:

“That’s the stuff that puts a smile on your face,” Ruff said.

And when pucks did get to Lyon, he was typically ready for them, stopping 29 of 31 shots for his second straight win. He hadn’t started since Black Friday but had entered the Sabres’ previous two games in relief; on Thursday, he made 21 saves to beat Edmonton in overtime.

Lyon admitted it’s been challenging for him with the three-goalie roster – Colten Ellis is currently out with a concussion – and the irregular playing time that comes with it. But the veteran netminder hasn’t seemed too rusty this week, and once he settled into Thursday’s game, he looked pretty unbeatable.

“That’s just kind of my role in hockey, in life, so I just try to stay ready and be ready,” Lyon said. “Just happy to get the start today and happy to get the win for the guys, and really appreciative for how we sold out.”

As put by captain Rasmus Dahlin, who scored his third goal of the season, the team is approaching every game like “must-wins” – the standings demand as much. With this one, Buffalo has back-to-back road wins for the first time this season; with another one Sunday in Seattle, the Sabres would improve to .500 both on the road trip (currently 2-3-0) and the season overall (13-14-4).

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and on Thursday those measures paid off with two huge points. Here’s more from the win.

Benny on the board

On Dec. 3 in Philadelphia, Benson finally scored his first goal of the season, but it was overturned by an offsides review. This time, in his 18th game, the winger got one that counted, a power-play one-timer late in the second period to put Buffalo ahead 3-2.

“It’s definitely a weight off the shoulders,” he said. “I mean, you’re still like, ‘Hopefully this one wasn’t offside.’ But when the puck dropped, definitely a relief to get that first one.”

Jason Zucker was thriving in the bumper position before going on injured reserve, and now Benson is filling that role nicely. They’ve both contributed to the Sabres’ scoring a power-play goal in six straight games and going 8-for-25 (32 percent) during that span.

“The power play, really the last 10, 12 games, has been real good,” Ruff said. “It’s scored a lot of big goals for us. If we’re going to fight our way back into it, we need it to continue.

“I thought [Benson] put himself in a great position there. We found the hole when we went down low, and he buried it.”

Kuntar’s NHL debut

Alex Tuch sat due to illness, so Trevor Kuntar entered the lineup for his NHL debut. The 24-year-old, a Buffalo-area native drafted by Boston in 2020, flew to Vancouver after signing a two-way contract with the Sabres on Wednesday.

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“I had a blast out there, super fun, and I’m just happy that we got a big win,” Kuntar said.

He skated just 5:12 as a casualty of Ruff’s late-game bench shortening – he and Isak Rosen each took one shift in the third period, while Josh Dunne and Jacob Bryson took none. But when Kuntar did get his chances, he flashed some of the abilities that earned him the call-up. At one point, he engaged with Sherwood, Vancouver’s most physical player, in some post-whistle chaos.

“I thought he finished bodies hard, he competed hard on the puck,” Ruff said. “I think, a lot of the time, winning on the road isn’t about skill. It’s about the compete – the real, hard compete. … Every time I put him on the ice, the compete was good.”

Surviving Quinn Hughes

Few NHLers can skate like Quinn Hughes, and the Sabres dealt with the ankle-breaking blueliner for 30:03 on Thursday. There have been 12 instances where a guy played 30-plus minutes this season, and four belong to Hughes. Much like Connor McDavid on Thursday, he's a constant threat.

Hughes picked up a power-play assist, but Buffalo outscored Vancouver 1-0 with him on the ice at 5-on-5 – a definite win against a player of that caliber.

Up next

Finally, the road trip ends Sunday evening in Seattle. Puck drop against the Kraken is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST, and MSG’s pregame coverage starts at 7:30.