(WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres get their second game of a back-to-back on Tuesday night in Vancouver against the Canucks.
Back on Jan. 13, the Sabres outplayed the Canucks in Buffalo, but were shut out by All-Star goalie Thatcher Demko, 1-0.
Since then, Demko suffered a knee injury and will not be available to play the Sabres on Tuesday.
Buffalo is 3-7-0 in the second game of a back-to-back set this season. Their win in Seattle on Monday made them 6-4-1 on the front end.
The Sabres got their first win ever against the Kraken on Monday, and one of the biggest reasons was their best players showed up when they were needed.
Buffalo is now four points back of the Washington Capitals for the Eastern Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot. They trail the Detroit Red Wings by three points and the New York Islanders by two.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 32-of-34 shots faced on Monday, while Jeff Skinner netted Buffalo's hat-trick of the season. Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch both had a goal and an assist, while Dylan Cozens had an assist.
After 40 minutes, Buffalo had a 5-2 lead, so it wasn’t necessary to pile on the minutes for some of their top defensemen. Rasmus Dahlin only played a total of 20:32, while his partner Bo Byram played 21:26 of ice-time. Owen Power skated a total of 21:47, while Connor Clifton played 20:46, Jacob Bryson skated 19:09, and Henri Jokiharju played 15:56 of ice-time.
Before the Seattle game, Byram averaged 24:42 in five games played with the Sabres since being acquired from the Colorado Avalanche.
With Luukkonen making 18 saves in the third period against Seattle and facing 34 shots overall, expect Devon Levi to play Tuesday against the Canucks.
Levi last played in the NHL on Jan. 24 in a 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings, where he stopped 37-of-40 shots faced.
Overall with the Sabres this season, Levi is 9-7-2 with a 3.30 goals-against average and an .891 save percentage.
In their last five games in Vancouver, the Sabres are 3-1-1.
Skinner leads the Sabres with 24 goals in 61 games this season. That’s 32 goals over an 82-game season.
Thompson has netted 21 goals in 58 games this year, which works out to 36 goals over 82 games.
As for Tuch, he has 19 goals in 62 games over the course of the 2023-24 campaign, which works out to 25 goals over 82 games.
The Canucks have been using former Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Casey DeSmith with Demko out of the lineup. DeSmith is 8-5-6 this season with a 2.87 goals-against average and an .899 save percentage.
DeSmith has played three games in-a-row since Demko’s injury.
Vancouver has been a bit of a streaky team lately. They won 10-of-12 games, followed by two losses, three wins, losses in 6-out-of-7 games, four-straight wins, and have now lost two-straight.
Their last game was a 2-1 loss to Washington this past Saturday.
The Canucks are No. 5 in the NHL with a points percentage of .676. That has them in first place in the Pacific Division with 92 point, which is eight more than the Edmonton Oilers.
Vancouver can score goals, as they’re fifth in the league, averaging 3.50 goals per-game. They’re also fifth defensively with a 2.68 goals-against average.
J.T. Miller is seventh in league scoring with 87 points in 68 games. In his last 12 games, Miller has nine goals and eight assists for 17 points.
Elias Petterson is 11th in the league with 79 points in 68 games.
Defenseman Quinn Hughes is 13th in the NHL with 77 points in 68 games. Hughes has 64 assists, which is fourth-best in the NHL.
Brock Boeser has 36 goals this year, which is ninth-best in the league.
Join Brian Koziol and myself for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 9 p.m. ET.
Losi & Gangi
