(WGR Sports Radio 550) - With three games in four nights and six games in 11, the Buffalo Sabres finally ran out of gas on Thursday in Vancouver against the Canucks.
The team also has a sickness going through it, as Josh Norris missed his second-straight game and Alex Tuch only could make two minutes of the warmup before deciding he was too sick to play. After the game, head coach Lindy Ruff revealed that another player gutted it out and played with the illness.
The 3-2 win over the Canucks was an example of what Ruff always says: You need to find a way to win when you don’t have your "A" game.
Alex Lyon was spectacular on Thursday, and stole the Sabres a hockey game. However, the team also showed a lot of desperation, blocking a season-high 26 shots. Vancouver outshot the Sabres in the third period, 12-2, and 32-15 overall. The shot attempts were 84-37 in favor of the Canucks.
Down the stretch when the Canucks pulled Thatcher Demko for the extra attacker, Lyon made every save, while also getting help from Jordan Greenway and Tyson Kozak with huge blocked shots.
Kozak and Conor Timmins each had five blocked shots on the game.
Lyon, who came on in relief both Monday and Tuesday, finished the win with 30 saves, many coming from Grade-A opportunities.
In the third period, Lyon robbed Drew O’Connor as he came in alone after a Timmins turnover. He did the same to Brock Boeser and Max Sasson, who were right at the top of the crease with great opportunities.
Sasson scored a goal early in the second period when he blew past Mattias Samuelsson and Bo Byram for a breakaway. That gave Vancouver a 2-1 lead, but 2:57 later, Rasmus Dahlin intercepted a clearing attempt up the wall and found Tage Thompson in the slot to give him goals in three-consecutive games.
Before the second period was over, the Sabres got a power play and Josh Doan found Zach Benson darting into the slot for his first goal of the year. It was Benson’s first goal since March 12, covering 35 games.
With a points percentage of .484, the Sabres are still in last place in the Eastern Conference, five points out of the eighth and final playoff spot held by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Pittsburgh also holds two games in-hand on Buffalo.
The Sabres will try to win three games in-a-row for the first time all season on Sunday when they close out this six-game road trip in Seattle against the Kraken.
In their history against Seattle, the Kraken have beaten Buffalo seven out of the eight times they’ve played.
The Kraken are in Utah on Friday to play the Mammoth, and have lost six out of their last seven games.
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