(WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres are still perfect on their road trip thanks to a 5-1 victory on Saturday night in Vancouver over the Canucks.
In all four of their wins this season, they have found a different way to do it. In this game, Buffalo was the better team for all but the second half of the second period.
It only took Rasmus Dahlin 5:35 to extend his NHL record for defensemen scoring goals in five-consecutive games from the start of the season.
Early in the first period, the Canucks created some great chances, but Craig Anderson made two big saves on Andrei Kuzmenko and Vasily Podkolzin.
Anderson is now 2-0-0 on the season and has stopped 64-of-66 shots.
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Not only is Dahlin scoring goals, but he had a huge blocked shot during a first period penalty kill. With five goals and three assists for eight points, Dahlin is 10th in league scoring and fifth in goals. He also leads the NHL with a plus-8 rating.
Late in the period, the Canucks got sloppy in front of the net, and Jeff Skinner forced a turnover and found Alex Tuch for his sixth goal of the season. Tuch, who has goals in four-straight games is second in goals, one behind Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos.
The Sabres are 4-1-0 to start the season, yet, they’re still two points behind the first place Boston Bruins in the Atlantic Division, and their .800 points percentage is fifth in the NHL.
Buffalo is second in the league with a goals-for average of 4.40 per-game. They’re fourth in goals-against at 2.20. The best thing about their goals-for average is Tage Thompson only has one goal and Jeff Skinner hasn't scored yet, and has just two points.
For the third-straight game, the Sabres lost a defenseman, as Mattias Samuelsson grabbed his right leg after throwing a check along the wall. Samuelsson had to be helped to the locker room after the game, but head coach Don Granato was positive about it after the game.
Thanks to the injury, Owen Power played 25:27 in 32 shifts, Dahlin played 35 shifts for 22:59, Jacob Bryson had 30 shifts for 21:49, Ilya Lyubushkin had 35 shifts for 20:11 and Casey Fitzgerald had 27 shifts for 18:45.
If Samuelsson can’t play on Tuesday in Seattle against the Kraken, Lawrence Pilut will go into the lineup.
Buffalo was going along OK until Samuelsson got injured and Conor Garland scored a power play goal. Buffalo really seemed to sag, and Vancouver put up quite a bit of pressure.
Anderson made a huge save on Brock Boeser from directly in front, and then got fortunate on a 2-on-1 when it looked like Podkolzin had a layup and fanned on the pass coming across.
The Sabres are playing with so much confidence, they took over the game in the third period right away.
Vinnie Hinostroza was given credit for a goal when he found himself alone in front at 1:28, but replay showed the puck went off both posts and out.
Just 26 seconds later, though, Casey Mittelstadt used his newfound speed and hustled down the left wing to create a 2-on-1 rush. His pass from the left wall all the way across the ice connected with Victor Olofsson, and the goal to make it 3-1 made the Canucks throw in the towel.
Mittelstadt has played very well in the last two games, and has put up two points in each game. He really has improved his skating and is gaining confidence.
Zemgus Girgensons scored an empty-net goal, and Vancouver completely quit after that, allowing Olofsson to score an easy goal from Dahlin.
After watching that game, I can see why Vancouver has started the season with six-straight losses. There were way too many plays throughout the evening where the Canucks just gave up on the play or got outworked by the Sabres.
The Sabres will have Sunday off and then practice on Monday, as they get ready to finish the road trip against the Kraken on Tuesday night.
