The Buffalo Sabres dropped their final game before the All-Star break in a 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. Although the Sabres opened the scoring, they gave up several chances and allowed the Canucks to come back, then found themselves in a hole multiple times. Evan Rodrigues extended his goal-scoring streak to three games, opening the scoring 8:48 into the first period. Rodrigues picked up a puck close by the net and tipped in a bounce behind Canucks netminder Thatcher Demko to make it 1-0 Buffalo. Vancouver went much of the period without registering a shot on goal, but then scored on back-to-back shots. Alexander Edler tied the game a few minutes after Rodrigues’ goal, on Vancouver’s third shot of the game. Edler’s goal came on a blast from the point that found its way through a crowd of players in front of Linus Ullmark. Another shot combined with a defensive breakdown led to another goal for the Canucks. This time, a pass from Derrick Pouliot, who got around multiple Sabres players as he carried the puck into the zone, reached Sven Baertschi, who put it behind Ullmark. Vancouver held a 2-1 lead going into the second period, despite being outshot 10-4. Buffalo rallied back and it took just 2:26 for the Sabres to tie things up in the second period. This time, it was Kyle Okposo getting on the board for his eighth of the season, scoring on a backhand from right in front of the net. Later in the middle frame, Lawrence Pilut attempted a backhand pass to Rasmus Ristolainen from the corner to the left of Ullmark; his pass missed Ristolainen, who wasn't quite in the lane, and hit the stick of Brock Boeser, who scored to make it 3-2. One way or another, Pilut was on the ice for each of the game’s first five goals, as the Sabres gave up three goals on eight shots. It’ll be interesting to see how Phil Housley and co. handle Pilut after Friday night’s game, and whether this may mean Pilut returns to the press box - or Rochester - sooner rather than later. Sam Reinhart would tie the game on an absolutely beautiful goal past the midway point of the game. Eichel passed the puck across the ice to Conor Sheary, who passed it to Reinhart right in front of the net. Reinhart took it backhand and bounced it off the frame of the net and in to make it 3-3. Reinhart from Sheary and Eichel 3-3 pic.twitter.com/hyiBAQLCtQ — Ben Mathewson (@Ben_Mathewson) January 19, 2019 The score remained tied for the rest of the second period and the opening minutes of the third, but Vancouver regained the lead on a goal by Loui Eriksson. Josh Leivo fed the puck around Zach Bogosian to Eriksson in front of the net for the goal as multiple Sabres, including Marco Scandella, failed to cover Eriksson. As the minutes ticked away, the Sabres just couldn’t score. They outshot the Canucks in the third period and had plenty of zone time including power-play chances, but small mistakes were ultimately what got in their way. The Sabres’ next game now isn’t until Tuesday, January 29 against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The break includes Buffalo’s bye stretch as well as the All-Star Game break. Final: Canucks 4, Sabres 3 Shots on Goal: Sabres 39 | Canucks 23 Sabres Goal Scorers: Evan Rodrigues (4), Kyle Okposo (8), Sam Reinhart (11) Canucks Goal Scorers: Alexander Edler (5), Sven Baertschi (7), Brock Boeser (16), Loui Eriksson (9) Three Stars of the Game 1. Thatcher Demko (36 saves) 2. Bo Horvat (2 assists) 3. Sam Reinhart (1 goal)<doc-sep>Game 48 Buffalo Sabres (24-17-6) vs. Vancouver Canucks (21-21-6) Puck Drop: 10:00 PM | Rogers Arena | Vancouver, Canada TV: MSG-B Radio: WGR 550 SB Nation Canucks Blog: Nucks Misconduct Know Your Opponent Vancouver Canucks Record: (21-21-6) | 48 points Last 10: 4-4-2 Division Ranking: 5th in the Pacific Division Conference Ranking: 10th in the Western Conference PP: 21st (17.3 %) PK: 22nd (78.3 %) What to Watch Possible Jeff Skinner absence Skinner was noticeably absent from yesterday’s practice and coach Phil Housley offered the reason pertaining to maintenance. The last time fans heard that, Jack Eichel was out for several games with an upper-body injury. Skinner’s absence would be a tough pill to swallow as the Sabres continue to fight for a playoff spot and only recently ended their three-game losing streak with the overtime win against Calgary. 2. Rasmus Dahlin hot streak Dahlin, having a great rookie year, is currently looking to beat the point streak record for rookie defensemen. He is currently tied with Phil Housley and Bobby Orr with his five-point run as an 18-year-old and will be looking to change history tonight to make it a record-breaking six consecutive points. 3. Elias Pettersson not quite ready to return Vancouver’s top center, rookie Elias Pettersson, has been out of the lineup since January 3rd with a knee injury and his coach does not anticipate him returning for the match-up against the Sabres. Pettersson is in competition with Dahlin for this year’s Calder Trophy and currently leads his team with 22 goals and 42 points. Buffalo Sabres Forwards Remi Elie - Jack Eichel - Sam Reinhart Zemgus Girgensons - Johan Larsson - Kyle Okposo Conor Sheary - Casey Mittelstadt - Tage Thompson Vladimir Sobotka - Evan Rodrigues - Jason Pominville Defense Lawrence Pilut - Rasmus Ristolainen Rasmus Dahlin - Zach Bogosian Marco Scandella - Jake McCabe Starting Goaltender: Linus Ullmark Vancouver Canucks Forwards Sven Bartschi - Bo Horvat - Brock Boeser Antoine Roussel - Brandon Sutter - Jake Virtanen Tim Schaller - Markus Granlund - Josh Leivo Loui Eriksson - Jay Beagle - Tyler Motte Defense Alexander Edler - Christopher Tanev Ben Hutton - Troy Stecher Derrick Pouliot - Erik Gudbranson Starting Goaltender: Thatcher Demko<doc-sep>Elias Pettersson might still be injured, but there’s another reason to get hyped about tonight’s matchup against the Buffalo Sabres. It's Demko time. Coach Green confirms Thatcher Demko will make his season debut tonight versus Buffalo. pic.twitter.com/bmcJjbEzl5 — Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) January 18, 2019 Other than the fact that this matchup is a preview of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final (kidding...somewhat), Canucks fans can look forward to Thatcher Demko’s first start tonight in Vancouver. So far in Demko’s professional career, the San Diego native has logged 107 AHL games and 1 NHL game. Goalies generally need more seasoning in the AHL compared to fowards and defencemen, but the time is now for Demko to become a full-time NHLer This isn’t controversial, but it’s accurate to say that Demko has played just the right amount of AHL games. Prognosticators are right when they say he has nothing left to gain down there. Looks like Thatcher Demko makes his season debut against Sabres tonight; neither goalie talks on game day (Canucks policy) but Demko has talked at length about the work he’s put in with Ian Clark since call up — Kevin Woodley (@KevinisInGoal) January 18, 2019 Some clamoured for Demko to arrive in Vancouver earlier. Some wanted him to finish the year down in Utica. Both of those points of views have flaws. When you look at how other goalies have successfully developed in the AHL, you’ll notice that Demko’s path is eerily similar. In fact, Demko can look right down the ice at the other goalie he’ll face tonight, Buffalo’s Linus Ullmark, to see another successful example of developing in the AHL. Similarities between Ullmark and Demko I’ll start with the differences here. Even though Ullmark was drafted two years ahead of Demko in 2012, he’s now just entering his first full NHL campaign. At 25 years old, Ullmark is surprisingly still a rookie, and he’s flourishing in his first season with the Sabres. Ullmark did play 20 games for the Sabres in 2015-16, and was competent with a .920 save percentage. Despite his success, the organization sent the then 21-year-old back to the farm for some seasoning. Ullmark vs Demko Friday in Vancouver It is The Great AHL All-Star Classic Goaltender Karaoke Duel https://t.co/JkG8tSksTa — Ben Birnell (@OD_Birnell) January 18, 2019 What happened with Ullmark was steady improvement in each season. His save percentages went from .902 to .909 to .922 last season with the Rochester Americans. While he saw some limited NHL action over that time, it was clear that 2018-19 was the time to promote Ullmark to the NHL full-time (not to mention, he was waiver eligible this season). When teams are bad, and goaltending is mediocre, fans are always hollering for their goaltending prospect to get a shot (sound familiar, Canucks fans?). The same was being said about Ullmark last season as Robin Lehner and Chad Johnson were providing subpar goaltending. The logic? Why throw your rookie NHL goalie to the wolves, playing behind a basement-dwelling team? The Canucks could have brought up Demko last year, but what was the point? He was progressing fine in the AHL, got his cup of coffee, and has worked towards earning a permanent role in 2019. Linus Ullmark COMPLETELY ROBS Michael Frolik pic.twitter.com/71T8m0F6BV — Bar South N Celly™ (@BarSouthNCelly) January 17, 2019 By the way, Ullmark logged 127 AHL games compared to Demko’s 107. If Demko wasn’t injured for two months to start the season, those totals would be nearly identical. Ullmark also has a .917 save percentage for the Sabres in 18 games played this season. Demko Compared to Other NHL Goalies There were many calling for Demko to arrive in Vancouver earlier than he did, citing someone like Cal Petersen, who had a .924 in Los Angeles despite being a 2013 draft pick. For the goalies drafted in 2014, there are some stellar prospects, but only Demko, Brandon Halverson (New York Rangers) and Alex Nedeljkovic have played NHL games. For the record, they each have one NHL start as of writing. For goalies drafted after Demko, here are the three that have NHL starts Adin Hill (Arizona Coyotes, 76th overall in 2015, 17 career games) (Arizona Coyotes, 76th overall in 2015, 17 career games) Mackenzie Blackwood (42nd overall in 2015, 11 career games) Carter Hart (Philadelphia Flyers, 48th overall in 2016, 11 career games) For the record, no goalies from the 2013 NHL draft have gone on to become starting goaltenders, and only Juuse Saros in Nashville is an established backup from that group. All of this is to say, if you’re acting like Demko has finally arrived here, then the expectations need to change. He appears to be arriving at exactly the right time. Canucks goalie coach on Thatcher Demko, who's making his first start of the season tonight. "We monitor what he did in Utica very closely. Watching his games down there we felt, OK, he’s graduated from this level. So let’s do this." — Ed Willes (@willesonsports) January 18, 2019 It was right to move on from Nilsson while there was a taker. It was also right to bring Demko up based on his AHL progression, and based on the fact that the Canucks aren’t a total disaster anymore. If you’re shooting high on Demko’s potential in a couple of years, here are some goalies from the 2012 draft that have gone on to become starting goaltenders. Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg Jets, 130th overall in 2012. 185 career regular seasongames) (Winnipeg Jets, 130th overall in 2012. 185 career regular seasongames) Matt Murray (Pittsburgh Penguins, 83rd overall in 2012. 132 career regular season games) (Pittsburgh Penguins, 83rd overall in 2012. 132 career regular season games) Frederik Andersen (Toronto Maple Leafs. Originally a 7th round pick of the Hurricanes in 2010. Re-entered the draft in 2012, selected 87th overall by the Anaheim Ducks. 289 career regular season games.) (Toronto Maple Leafs. Originally a 7th round pick of the Hurricanes in 2010. Re-entered the draft in 2012, selected 87th overall by the Anaheim Ducks. 289 career regular season games.) Andrej Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay Lightning, 19th overall, 182 regular season games)<doc-sep>Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko admits he was nervous before stepping on the ice on Friday night. The Canucks (22-21-6) were about to take on the Buffalo Sabres (24-18-6) and he was about to play in his second-ever NHL game. "I've been working hard and just patiently waiting for that first chance," said the 23-year-old. Demko — who played a single game for Vancouver last season — was called up from the American Hockey League's Utica Comets on Jan. 4 after the club traded backup netminder Anders Nilsson to the Ottawa Senators. "(Friday) opened up an opportunity for me," he said. "I'm just really excited and wanted to make the most of it." Demko ended up stopping 36-of-39 shots, guiding the Canucks to a 4-3 win. The performance had the crowd chanting "Dem-Ko!" in appreciation for some highlight reel-worthy stops. "He was great. Good to see. He was one of our best players tonight," Vancouver coach Travis Green said after the game. Alex Edler, Sven Baertschi, Brock Boeser and Loui Eriksson all scored for Vancouver. Bo Horvat had two assists, including one in the second period where he stripped Buffalo's Lawrence Pilut of the puck and made a beautiful pass to Boeser in front of the Sabres net. The right-winger tipped it in for his 16th goal of the season. WATCH | Highlights from Vancouver's win: Loui Eriksson scores winner as Canucks edge Sabres 0:29 Eriksson's 3rd period marker was the difference in the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres. 0:29 "Me shooting the puck hasn't been working so I thought I'd give it to somebody who's going to put it in the net," Horvat said. While he doesn't have a goal since Dec. 20, Horvat did notch his 200th NHL point on Friday. "Never when you're playing in the NHL do you think you'll be able to hit these kind of milestones," he said. "It's really exciting and it feels even better to get that win." Despite the victory, the Canucks simply weren't good with the puck on Friday, Green said. "Probably half our team didn't play their best hockey game. And when you can not play your best and win, that's a real bonus in the NHL," he said. "Our goalie gave us a good period in the third period. And we found a way to win a hockey game." The Canucks registered just four shots in the opening frame. Demko kept the squad in a game that got off to an "ugly" start, said Horvat. "That's unbelievable. Especially at a young age, coming in. These are meaningful games and he stepped up like great players do and he played phenomenal tonight," he said. "We owe him a lot of credit." But the match up wasn't without mishaps. Late in the third period, Buffalo's rookie defenceman Rasmus Dahlin fired a laser at the Canucks net, catching Demko in the mask. "The puck caught me just above the eyebrow and the cage was actually touching my eyebrow and my sightlines were changed a bit," the goalie explained. He added that the timing was good because Vancouver had just killed off a penalty that saw the Sabres blanket him with shots. "So it was nice. I maybe needed a little break, too. The power play was kind of buzzing there," Demko said with a smile. Sabres Evan Rodrigues, Kyle Okposo and Sam Reinhart all beat the Vancouver goalie on Friday. Buffalo netminder Linus Ullmark had 19 saves. "For a large majority of the game we played the way we wanted to, but those mistakes we're making are just a little too big," Reinhart said. "I'm sure we can correct and we are going to." Cleaning up those mistakes will be key going forward, said Buffalo coach Phil Housley. "Responsibility without the puck, that was the difference. But I can't complain, we had a heck of a game," he said. The Sabres are now off until after the all-star break. It's important that the team uses the time off, Okposo said. "The last week-and-a-half we have made some mistakes, we haven't gotten the results we wanted and when we come back we have to push," he said. "There's no bones about it, we're outside of a playoff spot right now." The Canucks are currently in the post-season race, holding the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The team will be back in action on Sunday when they host the Detroit Red Wings.<doc-sep>
Vancouver Canucks (21-21-6) vs Buffalo Sabres (24-17-6) Where: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC When: 7:00 pm PST Where to Watch: SNP SB Nation Opposition Blog: Die By The Blade WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Gotta hand it to ol’ Jimbo. Sure, he’s made a number of questionable signings over his tenure, but he’s at least trying to clean up the mess. His most recent move was finding someone to take Michael Del Zotto for a player and a pick. And this is a decent move even if it never sees Luke Schenn sent up from Utica. He’ll definitely help the Comets as they head towards the AHL playoffs. And there’s an argument to be made that even though that a guy who has been in the AHL all season is a serviceable replacement for Erik Gudbranson or Derrick Pouliot. The Canucks retained a small portion of his cap hit, but heading into the trade deadline they’ve got some cap space to play with should they decide to get some help for a playoff run, or accumulate more in a sell off to ensure they can get Brock Boeser and Thatcher Demko signed to deals that are going to keep them locked in for a good while. Apart from Elias Pettersson not being ready to return again tonight (and the quashing of a Pettersson/Rasmus Dahlin head to head matchup) the Canucks also have Bo Horvat to think about. Horvat suffered a mild charley horse in the loss to the Oilers though he did finish the game. Having gone 10 games without a goal already, being banged up seems like a less than ideal situation for the future Captain to be in if he wishes to break this slump. It also looks like Jacob Markstrom will start again tonight for the Canucks. It’s hard to argue with their logic, as Markstrom has been probably the most surprising story for the Canucks this season. They do have an afternoon game on Sunday against the Detroit Red Wings, so maybe that will be what it takes to get Demko a start. In the meantime, the Canucks can at least feel confident that Markstrom continues to give them a chance to win every night. Here’s some pregame reading for you: Ed Willes on the massive improvements to Markstrom’s game this season... While Horvat is good to go tonight, the Canucks are playing it cautious and calling up Tanner Kero from Utica... NM’ers who live in Victoria: you might wanna grab some Royals tickets for tonight’s game GAME DAY! We host the @MJWARRIORS led by @CanadiensMTL prospect Josh Brook & @Canucks prospect Jett Woo! Puck drop is at 7:05 pm. Tickets: https://t.co/7J5WPqxNFI pic.twitter.com/BWncfW1KGU — Victoria Royals (@victoriaroyals) January 18, 2019 Friend of the blog Ron MacLean said some nice stuff about us recently, but uh... really, Ron? MacLean : If Vancouver or Edmonton make the post season I would not want to play them. With how Markstrom has been playing and the upside the Oilers have, they could be dangerous. — Sportsnet 650 (@Sportsnet650) January 18, 2019 Dangerous as in a lot of times teams that sweep in the first round go on to regret it in the next one... This story from the Buffalo News is adorable, because they frame it as EP being Dahlen’s “competition” for the Calder Trophy...