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Vancouver Canucks at Buffalo Sabres – Thursday October 17 - 4 pm - Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet Vancouver, MSG-B, Bell-TV
Vancouver Canucks 4-3-0 tied for fourth in Pacific Division
Buffalo Sabres 1-6-1 eighth in Atlantic Division
The Vancouver Canucks are looking to start their long road trip with a 2-0 record as they touch down in Buffalo to face the struggling Sabres.
The rebuilding team is off to a rough start. Buffalo has just one win so far this season, a shootout victory over the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
Expect a rematch of 2010 Olympic final netminders as Canadian Roberto Luongo will likely face off against Ryan Miller of the USA.
This is the Canucks' first visit to Buffalo since Cody Hodgson and Zack Kassian were traded for each other at the 2012 trade deadline.
The pair has faced off against each other once before, on March 3, 2012—just days after the deal was completed. The Sabres won the game 5-3, chasing Roberto Luongo with three goals in the first five minutes. Kassian had a goal, an assist and was named third star, while Hodgson was held off the scoresheet. Another former Canuck, Christian Ehrhoff, scored the game-winner for Buffalo.
Hodgson leads the Sabres in scoring so far this season with six points in eight games, but he's not completely healthy,
according to John Vogl of the
Buffalo News. Hodgson skipped today's morning skate but will play tonight.
"He’s fine. He’ll be playing," said Sabres coach Ron Rolston, who conceded his top center is not 100 percent. "He is actually real close. I think we’re probably in the last week of it right now. He’s playing through some things, but he’ll be in the lineup."
Hodgson also gave an
interesting interview to Tony Gallagher of
The Province earlier this week. It's a good read, where he addresses the rumors head-on that he was a difficult player during his time with the Canucks.
“I’ve been hearing all this stuff about my dad being involved with the team and making calls to the team and I wanted to tell everyone that my dad had nothing to do with it,” said Hodgson. “This isn’t Pee Wee hockey where the dad can call up the coach and interfere with what’s going on...And another thing: I never once asked for more ice time when I was in Vancouver, even though the media asked me every day if I thought I should be playing more.
Hodgson has become a prominent player on a bad team in Buffalo but his defensive play remains suspect—one of the biggest on-ice issues that the Canucks had when they traded him.
As for Zack Kassian, the jury's still out. He has played just two regular-season games this year thanks to his suspension and has yet to make a serious impact. Kassian has dazzled at times with Vancouver and he's just 22. He could still blossom into the power forward the Canucks were hoping they'd acquired—keep in mind that Todd Bertuzzi had just turned 23 when the Canucks traded for him in 1998.
So who's better—Kassian or Hodgson? A good argument could be made either way. Have your say here and share your thoughts on the message board.
In other Canucks news, the team practised yesterday with the Sedin twins on separate lines once again, so it looks like that's how they'll start in Buffalo.
Injury Update:
Dan Hamhuis left the Philadelphia game for a time on Tuesday after blocking a shot with his upper body. He skipped Wednesday's practice and today's optional skate but is expected to play tonight.
Today marks exactly "a couple of weeks" since Alex Burrows injured his foot blocking a shot on opening night, "but he’s a ways away," Torts
told The Province's Ben Kuzma after practice on Wednesday.
It's another early start, with game time at 4:00. Enjoy—I'll be back tomorrow with a recap.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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