Sabres roughed up in shutout loss
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BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Vancouver Canucks skated out of town before the travel ban took effect Saturday, elbowing past the Sabres for a hard-fought 1-0 victory at KeyBank Center.
The second loss in three home games this week took its toll on the Sabres, as top-pair defenseman Mattias Samuelsson was knocked out of the game in the second period by Vancouver’s Filip Hronek.
In the same period, All-Star defenseman Rasmus Dahlin spent time in the dressing room after taking an elbow to the head from Canucks center J.T. Miller, and Erik Johnson missed a few shifts following his fight with Miller in response to the high hit on Dahlin. That required alternate captain Zemgus Girgensons to skate with Buffalo’s three-healthy D-men until Dahlin and Johnson returned to the ice.
In a positive health development, Buffalo’s top-line center Tage Thompson played after leaving early in Thursday night’s win against Ottawa. But Vancouver goaltender Thatcher Demko made 23 saves, and the Sabres were shut out for the second time in 43 games this season.
Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 23 shots in losing for the third time this season, and first in 21 home games.
Buffalo (18-21-4) begins another week of home games Monday against San Jose. The puck will drop at noon, an hour earlier than originally scheduled, because of the Bills-Steelers playoff game being postponed to a 4:30 p.m. Monday kickoff.
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Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB squad in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. The Buffalonian has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in Western New York since 2005, for publications including The Associated Press, The Buffalo News, and Niagara Gazette. Read more of his work here.
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