The red-hot Vancouver Canucks pay a visit to the Buffalo Sabres for a Saturday afternoon matchup, hoping to continue their surge up the NHL standings.
In the penultimate game of a seven-game road trip, the Canucks enter the cross-conference clash off a 4-3 overtime win Thursday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The victory followed a franchise-first sweep of the New York Metropolitan area, knocking off the Devils, Rangers and Islanders in successive games.
Vancouver, sitting second in the overall NHL standings only behind the Winnipeg Jets, will try to continue its most successful campaign since the 2010-11 season, which culminated in a Stanley Cup Final appearance.
However, much of the Canucks’ recent positive play comes down to the reintegration of the top line, featuring Elias Pettersson, JT Miller and Brock Boeser, who all have been in form since being reunited four games ago in a 6-4 win over the Devils.
“We have some chemistry from the past, and we’re just trying to work hard and rely on each other and see the play that’s ahead of us (and) not try to complicate things,” Pettersson of the line after scoring his fourth straight game-winning goal, becoming one of three NHL players to achieve that mark.
“It’s a very good start for our line, but we have to keep going.”
Vancouver also has enjoyed strong play from its third line, getting two-way contributions from Dakota Joshua, Sam Lafferty and Conor Garland, while head coach Rick Tocchet has tooled with the lineup to draw better performances from Andrei Kuzmenko and Ilya Mikheyev.
“We’ve just got to be careful on details,” Tocchet said last week. “To strive for what we’re trying to accomplish, everybody’s got to be connected and do the right thing.”
The Sabres are finding themselves trying to keep pace in the Atlantic Division race at the season’s halfway mark and looking to win back-to-back games for the third time.
After dropping a 5-2 result to the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday, Buffalo rebounded with a 5-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, led by two goals from Tage Thompson.
However, Thompson left the game midway through the third period and is doubtful for Saturday with an undisclosed injury, while veteran star forward Jeff Skinner remains injured week-to-week. Thompson was undergoing an MRI, according to reports.
“We want the wins,” Buffalo forward Peyton Krebs said after handing the Senators their fifth straight loss. “We know the taste of what it feels like to lose, and it’s not fun.”
Without Skinner and potentially Thompson, Buffalo will lean on Casey Mittelstadt (11 goals and 25 assists) in an effort to take two points against the Canucks.
In the crease, the Sabres will send out either Devon Levi or Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who have .899 and .889 save percentages this season, respectively. The Canucks will opt for either Thatcher Demko, who made 32 saves against the Penguins, or backup Casey DeSmith, and his .916 save percentage through 13 games.
–Field Level Media