The Vancouver Canucks (0-3-2) get their home schedule underway at Rogers Arena on Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres (3-1-0). Buffalo is coming off a high-scoring 6-3 win over the Flames on Thursday. The Sabres committed only one penalty in the game, holding Calgary without a power play goal. Alex Tuch was the top goalscorer for the Sabres with a hat trick.
Eric Comrie had a great performance with 40 saves (.930%) in the win. Vancouver dropped their fifth straight game, falling 4-3 (OT) to the Wild on Thursday. Dakota Joshua, Nils Aman, and Bo Horvat scored one apiece for the Canucks. Joshua and Aman both added an assist to lead the team in scoring. Thatcher Demko saved only 33 of 37 shots against (.891%) in the loss.
HEAD TO HEAD
The Sabres won both games between the teams last season, including a 3-2 (OT) victory in their final meeting in March. Rasmus Dahlin and Casey Mittelstadt each had two points (1G 1A) to lead Buffalo. J.T. Miller led Vancouver with two points (1G 1A). Craig Anderson got the win, saving 30 of 32 shots (.937%).
FACING OFF
Buffalo is averaging 4.25 goals per game so far this season, fourth in the NHL. The visitors will hope to take advantage of a Canucks team that is allowing 4.40 goals a game (28th). Meanwhile, Vancouver has found the net 3.00 times a game on average, 19th in the league, and the Sabres are allowing opponents to score 2.50 goals per game (6th).
The Sabres’ 11.76% power play percentage ranks 23rd in the league, while the Canucks are 25th with a conversion rate of 10.53%. Vancouver has been less successful at penalty killing, as the home team owns the league’s second-lowest PK% at 58.82%. Buffalo’s 85.71% ranks 11th in the NHL.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With six points apiece so far this season, Tuch (5G 1A) and Dahlin (4G 2A) are the top skaters for the Sabres. In the net, Anderson (1-0-0) is Buffalo’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 1.00 GAA, best in the league, and a .972% save percentage, second-best. Comrie (2-1-0) leads the Sabres in games played in goal.
He has a GAA of 3.00 and a save percentage of .930%.Elias Pettersson leads the Canucks in scoring with six points. He has three goals and three assists in five games. Demko (0-3-1) is the top goalie for Vancouver with a goals against average of 4.30. He has a save percentage of .861%.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
Vancouver Canucks (-175)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
