NHL

Buffalo Sabres at Vancouver Canucks

· National Hockey League
<span id="gameStatus" class="badge bg-danger" style="font-size: 1.2em; margin: 5px 0;">Final</span>
3 - 2

Kulich puts up three points, Buffalo Sabres come back to top Vancouver Canucks 3-2

Buffalo Sabres vs. Vancouver Canucks: Game Highlights

JJ Peterka also scored and had an assist for the Sabres, while Tage Thompson scored his team-leading 21st of the season. Rasmus Dahlin registered two assists.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 32 shots for a Buffalo side that was coming off a 6-4 loss to the Kraken in Seattle on Monday.

Elias Pettersson and Phillip Di Giuseppe — with his first of the season — scored for the Canucks, and Thatcher Demko made 23 saves.

Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers served the first game of the three-game suspension he was handed for cross-checking Oilers blueliner Evan Bouchard in the face late in Vancouver’s 3-2 win on Saturday.

Takeaways Canucks: With Myers out of the lineup, Mark Friedman returned from the American Hockey League’s Abbotsford Canucks and played his first NHL game since Dec. 14. He was paired with captain Quinn Hughes and registered 15:01 in ice time.

Sabres: Veteran winger Jason Zucker was sidelined by illness after contributing a goal and an assist in Seattle on Monday. Buffalo opted to go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen in Vancouver.

Key moment Dahlin snapped a pass across the faceoff circle to Peterka and the winger blasted a shot in under Demko’s pads for the winning goal at the 13:33 mark of the third period.

Key stat Vancouver has not won two games in a row since Dec. 1. The team is 7-9-7 since.

Up next The Sabres visit the Flames on Thursday. The Canucks visit the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.

Regular Season Series

Series tied 1-1

Scoring Summary

Goal 1st Period 17:34 Tage Thompson Goal (21) Wrist Shot, assists: Jiri Kulich (3)
Goal 2nd Period 3:05 Phillip Di Giuseppe Goal (1) Backhand, assists: Carson Soucy (6), J.T. Miller (24)
Goal 2nd Period 10:29 Elias Pettersson Goal (11) Wrist Shot, assists: Quinn Hughes (39), Brock Boeser (14)
Goal 3rd Period 8:42 Jiri Kulich Goal (8) Tip-In, assists: JJ Peterka (23), Rasmus Dahlin (27)
Goal 3rd Period 13:33 JJ Peterka Goal (11) Slap Shot, assists: Rasmus Dahlin (28), Jiri Kulich (4)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/buf.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originBUF https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/van.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originVAN
11 Blocked Shots 12
19 Hits 15
3 Takeaways 3
26 Shots 34
0 Power Play Goals 0
2 Power Play Opportunities 1
0.0 Power Play Percentage 0.0
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
25 Faceoffs Won 25
50.0 Faceoff Win Percent 50.0
22 Giveaways 12
1 Total Penalties 2
2 Penalty Minutes 4
Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Canucks Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Nils Hoglander, LW Out May 6
Evander Kane, LW Out Apr 14
Thatcher Demko, G Injured Reserve Mar 3
Jonathan Lekkerimaki, RW Out Feb 27
Filip Chytil, C Injured Reserve Feb 25
Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Sabres Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Justin Danforth, RW Injured Reserve May 20
Jiri Kulich, C Injured Reserve May 19
Noah Ostlund, C Out May 3

Game Information

Rogers Arena

Location: Vancouver,
Attendance: 19,064 | Capacity:

2025-26 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/buf.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Buffalo 50 23 109 9
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/tb.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Tampa Bay 50 26 106 6
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/mtl.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Montreal 48 24 106 10
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/bos.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Boston 45 27 100 10
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/ott.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Ottawa 44 27 99 11
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/det.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Detroit 41 31 92 10
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/fla.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Florida 40 38 84 4
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/tor.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Toronto 32 36 78 14

2025-26 Pacific Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/vgk.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Vegas 39 26 95 17
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/edm.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Edmonton 41 30 93 11
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/ana.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Anaheim 43 33 92 6
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/la.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Los Angeles 35 27 90 20
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/sj.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">San Jose 39 35 86 8
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/sea.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Seattle 34 37 79 11
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/cgy.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Calgary 34 39 77 9
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/van.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Vancouver 25 49 58 8
Full Standings