Vancouver, B.C. (WGR 550) - Thanks, in part, to timely scoring and goaltending, the Buffalo Sabres defeated a reeling Vancouver Canucks by a final score of 5-1 on Saturday night at Rogers Place.
The Sabres opened the scoring with a power play tally 5:35 into the game. Rasmus Dahlin, who was riding a four-game goal streak into British Columbia, extended that streak to five games in-a-row.
In the process, Dahlin also added to his already NHL record of goal-scoring to start a season by a defenseman.
The blue and gold extended their lead to 2-0 later in the opening period when Alex Tuch continued his hot start. The forward's sixth goal of the campaign broke the brief tie he and Dahlin were in for the team lead in goal-scoring.
The Sabres took that 2-0 edge deep into the middle frame before the Canucks fought their way to a goal. Forward Conor Garland potted a power play tally for the home side to cut Buffalo's lead in half.
Early in the third period of play, the Sabres extended their lead to two again when Casey Mittelstadt and Victor Olofsson teamed up on an odd-man rush chance. Olofsson's one-time shot past goalie Thatcher Demko gave Buffalo a comfortable 3-1 lead.
The goal was Olofsson's third of the season, and first since scoring twice on an empty-net opening night against the Ottawa Senators.
Speaking of vacated creases, Zemgus Girgensons and the Sabres connected on one before the night ended to help bring the score to 4-1.
Shortly after netting the empty-net goal, Buffalo added one more goal as Olofsson, once again, hit paydirt for his second goal of the night.
The win pushed the Sabres' early season record to 4-1-0, and marked a clean sweep of Western Canada for the first time since 2018.
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GAME RECAP
Scoring Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 5:35 - Rasmus Dahlin (5) PPG (Casey Mittelstadt, Tage Thompson); 15:18 - Alex Tuch (6) (Jeff Skinner)
VAN: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: NONE
VAN: 13:27 - Conor Garland (2) PPG (Tanner Pearson, Ilya Mikheyev)
Third Period:
BUF: 1:54 - Victor Olofsson (3) (Casey Mittelstadt); 16:31 - Zemgus Girgensons (2) ENG (Victor Olofsson); 17:21 - Victor Olofsson (4) (Rasmus Dahlin, Rasmus Asplund)
VAN: NONE
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Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 6:19 - JJ Peterka (Hooking - 2 min.); 8:53 - Tage Thompson (High-sticking - 2 min.)
VAN: 5:11 - Tyler Myers (Holding - 2 min.)
Second Period:
BUF: 11:40 - Rasmus Dahlin (Tripping - 2 min.)
VAN: NONE
Third Period:
BUF: 6:39 - Ilya Lyubushkin (Hooking - 2 min.)
VAN: NONE
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Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Rasmus Dahlin - BUF
2.) Craig Anderson - BUF
3.) Victor Olofsson - BUF
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What's next:
The Sabres make their way back to the United States for a Tuesday night battle with the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena. Faceoff is set for 10 p.m. ET with pregame coverage on the flagship radio home of the Buffalo Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550 - starting at 9 p.m. ET with Brian Koziol.