The Vancouver Canucks face the Buffalo Sabres with both teams having rough starts to the season. The Canucks have a 4-9-3 and with three losses in a row, are near the bottom of the Pacific Division. The Sabres have a 7-8 record and with a five-game losing streak are near the bottom of the Atlantic Division. Both teams are looking to rebound from tough skids in the standings and avoid falling behind this early in the season, making the upcoming game crucial for both teams to win.
The Canucks are having a season to forget despite their offense stepping up and scoring 3.31 goals per game. Elias Pettersson, Bo Horvat, and J.T. Miller have scored 28 goals and 22 assists to lead the top two lines but the rest of the offense has also stepped up. Andrei Kuzmenko, Ilya Mikheyev, and Conor Garland have combined for 14 goals and 13 assists while defenseman Quinn Hughes is adding 14 assists from the point to open up the offense.
The offense has stepped up but the defense has been awful, allowing 4.06 goals per game including 13 goals in the last three games. Luke Schenn and Tyler Myers have combined for 1.3 defensive point shares and 41 blocked shots but the rest of the unit has played poorly, allowing open shots on the net. In addition, goaltender Thatcher Demko has struggled in the net with a .874 save percentage and a 4.02 goals-against average on 349 shots.