Expansion cousins the Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres met up for the second time this season after the Canucks beat the Sabres 4-3 in overtime on Nov. 29. This time, it was the Sabres that got the last laugh as they used a strong third period to erase a 2-1 deficit and win 3-2.

It was the Sabres’ top line of Tage Thompson, Jiri Kulich, and JJ Paterka that led the way in this one with Thompson opening the scoring in the first period and Kulich and Paterka fueling the comeback in the third. It was Kulich that had the strongest game overall, notching a goal and two assists for a three-point night. Paterka potted the winner late in the third, helping the Sabres to their 18th win of the season and giving the Canucks yet another disappointing loss at Rogers Arena, a place they have only won eight times in.

Game Recap

The first period was quiet for the most part with both teams struggling to find scoring chances and long periods of possession in the offensive zone. According to Natural Stat Trick, they somehow combined for 13 scoring chances with the Sabres out-chancing the Canucks 8-5 and 3-0 when it came to the high-danger areas. One of those was converted when Tage Thompson (21) opened the scoring on a laser of a wrist shot after rookie Jiri Kulich won a faceoff against Elias Pettersson. Other than that, there wasn’t a lot of action in the opening frame as it came to an end with the Canucks trailing 1-0 on the scoreboard despite being ahead 8-7 on the shot clock.

The middle frame was more one-sided as the Canucks came alive in the scoring chance department, especially in the high-danger category. They ended up with a 6-1 edge in high-danger chances and scored two goals courtesy of Phil Di Giuseppe’s first of the season and Elias Pettersson’s 11th. First, Di Giuseppe got on the board for the first time since March 9, 2024, when he backhanded a shot past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen after a ricochet off the boards at 3:05. Then it was Pettersson, giving the Canucks the lead at 10:29 with a perfectly-placed wrist shot taking advantage of the Sabres’ misfortune of having only four players with the benefit of a stick.

The Canucks went into the third with a 2-1 lead and like a few times this season, let their opponent off the mat trying to protect it. They allowed the Sabres to control play for most of the period and eventually surrendered the tieing goal to Kulich at the 8:42 mark when he was left alone in front of Demko. JJ Paterka found him with a pass from the corner boards as Filip Hronek got there just a little too late to check him. The Sabres rode the momentum from that goal to another one when Paterka completed the top-line trifecta with 6:27 remaining in regulation. After Kulich won the draw against Teddy Blueger, Rasmus Dahlin found Paterka in the bumper spot where he one-timed his 11th past Demko for the 3-2 lead and the completion of the comeback. The Canucks got a few late chances with the goalie pulled, but they couldn’t put the equalizer past Luukkonen.

Goalie Matchup

• Luukkonen stopped 32 of 34 shots for a .941 save percentage (SV%) and improved to 15-14-4.
• Demko at the other end stopped 23 of 26 for a .885 SV% and fell to 3-4-3.

What’s Next For the Canucks & Sabres?

The Canucks will head out on the road for a quick one-game stint in Edmonton on Thursday where they will face the Oilers for the second time in the past week. The Sabres will also head to Alberta, but face the Flames in the third stop of their Western road trip before finishing it in Edmonton on Saturday.