Sabres look to enter break on a winning note in Vancouver

VANCOUVER - With a nine-day break ahead of them, the Buffalo Sabres have a chance to enter their bye week on a winning note when they visit the Vancouver Canucks tonight at Rogers Arena.
The Sabres have split the first two contests of their three-game swing through Western Canada, which they opened with a loss in Edmonton on Monday before rebounding with an overtime victory in Calgary on Wednesday. A win tonight would bring their points percentage on the road back above .500.
Kyle Okposo said they'll be looking to employ the same mentality they had against the Flames, when they erased a third-period deficit against the top team in the Western Conference.

"I didn't think that we broke at all," Okposo said. "We gave up some chances but there was no running around, there was no panic involved in our game. We just kind of stayed calm and trusted that good things were going to happen, and they did."

Linus Ullmark will start in net for the second straight game, coming off a 30-save performance in the win over Calgary. That victory improved his record to 10-3-3 on the season.
The rest of the Sabres' lineup is expected to remain the same, with the caveat that Jeff Skinner is a game-time decision after a slide into the boards forced him to miss a shift in the second period in Calgary. Skinner did take part in an optional skate this morning and said he felt OK afterward.
"I went in kind of hard and in a little bit of a weird spot," he said. "Whenever that happens, you get up and sort of try and do a body scan on yourself. A little sore, but I felt fine out there today."
Coverage on MSG-B begins at 9:30 p.m. with the GMC Game Night pregame show, or you can listen live on WGR 550. The puck drops at 10.

Scouting the Canucks

Vancouver will be without its leading scorer in rookie forward Elias Pettersson, who will miss his fifth straight game due to a knee injury. Pettersson leads NHL rookies with 22 goals and 42 points this season.
It will be the second and final meeting between the Sabres and Canucks this season. Casey Mittelstadt scored in a shootout to give the Sabres a 4-3 win in their first meeting on Nov. 13, when they erased a 3-1 deficit with 2:30 remaining in regulation.
"I think that they outplayed us the last time we played them," Okposo said. "We scored a couple goals late and we were able to win the game, but I thought that they outplayed us for most of the game. We have to make sure that we're matching their work ethic.
"That was one thing I took away from their game last game is how hard that they worked. We're going to have to be prepared."
Thatcher Demko will make his season debut in net for the Canucks after being recalled from AHL Utica on Jan. 4. The 23 year old was an AHL All-Star last season, when he posted a .922 save percentage in 46 games for the Comets.

Numbers to know

6 -With a point tonight, Rasmus Dahlin would become the first 18-year-old defenseman in NHL history to record a six-game point streak. Only three others have reached his current streak of five games: Aaron Ekblad, Phil Housley and Bobby Orr, who did it twice.
300 - Johan Larsson will appear in his 300th NHL game tonight, all but one of which he's played for the Sabres. He's elevated his status as a dependable checking centerman this season, ranking second among Sabres forwards with a 51.65 Corsi-for percentage despite taking just 18.52 percent of his faceoffs in the offensive-zone, which is the lowest mark on the team according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
624 - Canucks forward Bo Horvat leads the NHL with 624 faceoff wins and 1,186 faceoffs taken. His 37 points (17+20) rank second on the team to Pettersson.

Projected lineup

53 Jeff Skinner* - 9 Jack Eichel - 23 Sam Reinhart
43 Conor Sheary - 37 Casey Mittelstadt - 72 Tage Thompson
17 Vladimir Sobotka - 71 Evan Rodrigues - 29 Jason Pominville
28 Zemgus Girgensons - 22 Johan Larsson - 21 Kyle Okposo
24 Lawrence Pilut - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen
26 Rasmus Dahlin - 4 Zach Bogosian
6 Marco Scandella - 19 Jake McCabe
35 Linus Ullmark
40 Carter Hutton
\Skinner will be a game-time decision*