Rasmus Dahlin doesn’t see any reason why the Buffalo Sabres can’t start another winning streak when they host the struggling Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night.
The Sabres are looking to rebound from a 5-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday which snapped their franchise-record tying 10-game win streak.
“This is our test,” captain Dahlin said. “We need to bounce back here.”
Buffalo faces the reeling Canucks, who are in last place in the Pacific Division having lost three straight and five of their last six games.
“We’ve got to tweak some things,” Dahlin said. “We have puck possessions, we’re just not really creating dangerous chances. But it’s coming. You’ve got to bounce back on that too.”
The streak may be over but the work ethic and game plan remains the same.
“That’s what contributed to a lot of our success,” forward Josh Norris said. “I don’t think we got too high and didn’t get too low.”
The Sabres haven’t qualified for Stanley Cup playoffs since 2011, the longest postseason drought in the NHL. The last time the Sabres made the playoffs their youngest player Zach Benson was just 5 years old.
Part of that is due to being one of the youngest teams in the league. They have a deep prospect pool with 16 first and second-round picks over the last six seasons.
Offseason player moves and now a major management change, that saw Jarmo Kekalainen promoted to general manager last month, has the club pointed in the right direction for the first time in ages.
“Now it’s about not losing two in a row, about responding to the game we just played, going back in our building and playing a good hockey game,” said Lindy Ruff, the winningest coach in franchise history, who returned to the team in 2024 after an 11-year hiatus.
“Our hands weren’t connected to our brain,” Ruff said of the streak-busting loss. “There was plays there to be made, and we had some good looks, but we just didn’t make the next play offensively.”
The Sabres should receive a boost with the return of Jason Zucker, who has sat out since being injured on Dec. 8. Zucker leads the team with five power-play goals.
“Could be the piece missing for us,” Ruff said.
The Canucks also finished out of the playoffs last season after making it to the Western Conference semifinals in 2024.
Vancouver is looking to avoid a four-game losing streak following a 3-2 overtime defeat to the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
They are in last place in the Pacific Division and it doesn’t get any easier as they begin their longest road trip of the season (six games) in Buffalo.
Coach Adam Foote said they need to get this turned around quickly to keep their playoff chances alive.
“This is a tough schedule for all the teams with the Olympics this year,” Foote said. “We are hanging in there. Hopefully we get some guys back soon from injuries. You just don’t want the playoffs to be out of reach. It is still there. ”
Injuries and the loss of their best player Quinn Hughes are forcing Foote to get creative on special teams like using 20-year-old defenseman Tom Willander on the power-play.
“We got a lot of young D,” Foote said. “It is tough for us to put young guys in that spot. It is a lot for these guys that age to jump in and have that responsibility. The key is not stunting their growth.”
This is the second and final game of the season between the Canucks and the Sabres, who won the first 3-2 on Dec. 11 in Vancouver.
–Field Level Media
