Sabres at Canucks How to watch, lineup notes, and storylines

Storylines

1. About Monday afternoon

Jack Quinn gave Buffalo an early 1-0 lead, but Seattle tied the game 27 seconds later. Tage Thompson completed a two-goal comeback, tying it 3-3 in the second period, but Seattle regained the lead 56 seconds later and ultimately won 6-4.

“The good was we battled back,” said Sabres coach Lindy Ruff. “The bad was, as soon as we battled back, we gave up one.”

“Battle” was the word of the evening, as Ruff attributed the goals against – five on goalie Devon Levi, one into an empty net – to lost puck battles by Buffalo.

“Almost 90 percent of their opportunities were on the hands of us not winning a battle,” Ruff added.

Seattle held an edge in 5-on-5 shot attempts (54-50), shots on goal (31-22) and high-danger scoring chances (10-7), per Natural Stat Trick.

2. The third line

Quinn, Zach Benson and Peyton Krebs have emerged as a highly effective third line of late.

With that trio on the ice at 5-on-5 over the last five games, Buffalo has held a 65-percent share of shot attempts and led 22-11 in scoring chances. For the season, more broadly, those figures are 63 percent and 28-15 in 49:03 of ice time.

Krebs has six points (1+5) in his last 10 games after a two-assist performance at Seattle. Benson has six points (4+2) in his last 12. And Quinn has matched Jason Zucker’s team-leading eight goals since Dec. 15.

All three forwards have regularly moved up and down the lineup for much of the season. Their driving play on a line together, along with the recent uptick in scoring, is a great sign for the Sabres.

3. Scouting the Canucks

When the Sabres lost 4-3 in overtime to the Canucks on Nov. 29, much of the postgame talk centered around defenseman Quinn Hughes. The reigning Norris Trophy winner recorded two assists, including a primary one after controlling the 3-on-3 overtime period.

At 5-on-5 this season overall, Vancouver has held a 49-percent share of both shot attempts and goals. But with Hughes on the ice, those numbers jump to 58 percent of shot attempts and 61 percent of goals. His 50 points (12+38) lead the Canucks by a wide margin and rank third among NHL blueliners.

Trade talks have swirled around top centers J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson for about a month, but they remain in Vancouver for now. At 31 and 29 points, respectively, both are on pace to fall well short of last season’s totals (103 for Miller, 89 for Pettersson).

Forward Conor Garland scored the overtime winner versus Buffalo as part of a three-point afternoon. He also has 31 points (11+20), tying Miller for second on the team.

Defenseman Tyler Myers, recently named to the Sabres’ Quarter-Century Second Team for his tenure in Buffalo from 2009-2015, will miss Tuesday’s contest due to a three-game suspension.

Vancouver has gone 8-8-7 since that Black Friday win at KeyBank Center and sits one point behind Calgary for the second Western Conference wild card spot.