Thursday October 20 - Vancouver Canucks vs. Buffalo Sabres - 7 p.m. - Sportsnet 360
Vancouver Canucks: 3 GP, 3-0-0, 6 pts, first in Pacific Division
Buffalo Sabres: 3 GP, 1-1-1, 3 pts, eighth in Atlantic Division
The Vancouver Canucks will put their perfect record on the line when they host the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night at Rogers Arena.
In case you haven't heard, the Canucks are 3-0-0 after three come-from-behind wins to start the season—one in the shootout and two in overtime.
After starting the season at home with a loss to Montreal, the Sabres have three points so far on their swing through Western Canada. They embarrassed the Edmonton Oilers by a score of 6-2 last Sunday before dropping a 4-3 overtime decision to the Calgary Flames.
Ryan Miller is expected to dress as the Canucks' backup on Thursday, so no emergency call-up will be necessary.
The media does not often get access to injured players, but Ben Kuzma of
The Province spoke with Miller on Wednesday.
Click here for all the details on why Miller decided to pull himself out of the lineup—an issue with his alignment caused by a wonky adductor muscle.
"This is not an injury, it’s more that a muscle didn’t want to settle down and you’ve got to let it relax," Miller explained to Kuzma. "As a goalie, you probably feel this way 10 times a season where you might be tight today. The next day I make sure my back and hips are lined up and get the right kind of recovery. Once you get the rest you’re fine."
All told, Miller's pretty nonplussed about the incident.
We don’t tell you guys 95 per cent of he stuff that goes on and we can still play.
But I knew if I had muscle and fatigue and went out and exploded into a save, that I could put myself in a bad situation. Rather than do that that, you guys get the every-man-has-a-backup story and Hewitt has a fun night and Marky was great.
Miller will be back on the bench tonight, while Markstrom makes his third start of the year.
The pair are expected to split duties during the back-to-back games in California this weekend. It'd sure be interesting if Miller played—and played well—against the winless Kings, who are now expecting to be without Jonathan Quick for three months due to his groin injury.
But back to the present. One other note from the rink this morning.
I'm wondering if the Canucks might be able to log their first lead of the season tonight—maybe even score the first goal? Don't get me wrong—the comeback wins are great! But that's a taxing way to play hockey. A little bit of a cushion might be nice if they can pull it off.
The Sabres will be hitting the ice with a couple of gaping holes in their lineup. Jack Eichel's expected to be out until December with a high ankle sprain, and Evander Kane is listed as week-to-week after breaking three ribs with a hard crash into the boards last week.
Buffalo spent time at practice in Vancouver on Wednesday working on special teams. The Sabres are a solid 25 percent on the power play so far this season—eighth in the league with a 4-for-16 record through three games.
Vancouver...ahem...is ranked last as they have yet to score with the man advantage. The Canucks are 0-for-10.
It won't be easy for the Canucks to snap that streak tonight, either. Buffalo has been perfect on the penalty kill so far this season with no goals against in nine shorthanded situations. Vancouver ranks 11th in the league in the early going, with one power-play goal against in seven shorthanded situations.
Sabres backup Anders Nilsson is expected to draw into a game soon, but it's not yet clear whether that will happen tonight or if Robin Lehner will make his fourth start of the season.
Watch out for Ryan O'Reilly and Rasmus Ristolainen, who each have five points in the Sabres' first three games.
No word on any lineup changes for the Canucks. I'm expecting that Jack Skille will stay in, while Jake Virtanen sits for the second straight game.
Enjoy!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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