Vancouver, British Columbia (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres got back in the win column Tuesday, rebounding from a loss in Seattle on Monday with a promising 3-2 victory in Vancouver over the Canucks at Rogers Arena.
Tage Thompson opened the scoring late in the first period, as he and the Sabres made the Canucks pay for an icing.
After a faceoff in the Vancouver end of the ice, Thompson won the puck off the draw, grabbed some space and snapped his 21st goal of the season past goalie Thatcher Demko.
Vancouver flipped the script as the second period proceeded, though. It was a 20 minute segment dominated by the Canucks, as the team dialed things up against the Sabres and scored two goals as a result.
First, forward Phillip Di Giuseppe won a battle in front of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and potted his first goal of the season to make it a 1-1 tie.
Later on, forward Elias Pettersson culminated a strong zone possession for Vancouver with a wrist shot past Luukkonen. Halfway through the middle stanza, the Sabres trailed for the first time in the contest.
Buffalo found the equalizer with 11:18 left in regulation thanks to Jiri Kulich. Left all alone in front, JJ Peterka located Kulich for a tip-in to tie the contest at 2-2.
With 6:27 left to play, the trio of Kulich, Peterka and Rasmus Dahlin went to work again, this time with Peterka getting rewarded.
Off another faceoff draw in the Canucks end of the ice, Dahlin located Peterka in the slot, and the German winger's quick shot beat Demko to give the Sabres its first lead since the second period, 3-2.
Peterka's goal stood as the game-winning tally, as Buffalo held on to earn a road win in Vancouver.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: 17:34 - Tage Thompson (21) (Jiri Kulich)
VAN: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: NONE
VAN: 3:05 - Phillip Di Giuseppe (1) (Carson Soucy, JT Miller); 10:29 - Elias Pettersson (11) (Quinn Hughes, Brock Boeser)
Third Period:
BUF: 8:42 - Jiri Kulich (8) (JJ Peterka, Rasmus Dahlin); 13:33 - JJ Peterka (11) (Rasmus Dahlin, Jiri Kulich)
VAN: NONE
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Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Jiri Kulich - BUF
2.) JJ Peterka - BUF
3.) Elias Pettersson - VAN
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What's next:
The Sabres continue their four-game Western Conference road trip with a visit to Calgary on Thursday night to take on the Flames. Puck drop from the Scotiabank Saddledome is set for 9 p.m. with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray on the call.