Sabres vs. Canucks | How to watch, lineup notes, and storylines

Lindy Ruff shared his message to the Buffalo Sabres on Monday, with their 10-game winning streak behind them and half a season of hockey still to play.

“There’s nothing easy,” Ruff said. “There’s no team you can point to and say, ‘This is going to be an easier one tonight.’ We’ve got to put the work in.”

The Sabres will look to get back in the win column when they return home on Tuesday to host the Vancouver Canucks at KeyBank Center.

Buffalo is coming off a 5-1 loss in Columbus, which snapped its franchise record-tying winning streak. Captain Rasmus Dahlin and other players who spoke postgame emphasized the importance of remaining even-keel in response to that loss, as they had done in the aftermath of the wins that preceded it.

“This is our test,” Dahlin said. “We need to bounce back here.”

They will have the opportunity to string together another run on home ice. After playing 10 of 14 games on the road in January, the Sabres six of their next seven games at KeyBank Center, where they’re 12-5-2 this season.

“We would really like to establish that this is a tough building to come in and play,” Ruff said. “That when [opponents] come in they go, ‘Man, the Sabres are playing well in here.’ That starts with playing well defensively. I think the second part, you’ve got to be ready to outwork the other team.”

The puck drops at 7 p.m. Here’s what you need to know.

How to watch

TV (Buffalo broadcast market): MSG (Pregame coverage begins at 6:30 p.m.)

Streaming: Gotham Sports App, ESPN+ (out of market)

Radio: WGR 550 / Buffalo Sabres App

More ways to watch/listen to Sabres games

Lineup notes

Jason Zucker will be back in the lineup after missing the last 11 games. Zucker sustained both upper- and lower-body injuries in Edmonton on Dec. 9, which held him out of practice until after the holiday break.

Zucker has been skating with the team since Dec. 27, waiting for his turn to re-enter the lineup. There was simply no one who deserved to come out during the Sabres’ streak, Ruff said.

“We were getting an effort from everybody that, when we sit as coaches – even [GM Jarmo Kekäläinen] was sitting in some of our meetings – and we’re talking about lineup, you’re talking about, ‘Well, does he deserve to come out?,’” Ruff said. “And that’s a great problem to have.”

Zucker’s net-front ability should provide a boost for the Buffalo power play, which is 0-for-14 over the last six games. Zucker leads the team with 16 power-play goals since the start of last season.

Here's the projected lineup from warmups, with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen starting in net:

Scouting the Canucks

The Canucks have changed drastically since the Sabres’ 3-2 win in Vancouver on Dec. 11. That game was Quinn Hughes’ last in a Canucks uniform before the superstar defenseman was traded to Minnesota for a package that included three players selected in the first round of the draft: forwards Liam Ohgren and Marco Rossi and defenseman Zeev Buium.

Rossi is on injured reserve, but Buium has averaged north of 20 minutes of ice time since joining the Canucks. Ohgren is among the team leaders in hits and blocked shots.

All told, the Canucks have played better hockey of late despite their three-game winless streak. They led their last two games (an overtime loss to Boston and shootout loss to Seattle) in 5-on-5 high-danger chances by a combined tally of 27-11, according to Natural Stat Trick.