Thursday February 26 - Vancouver Canucks at Buffalo Sabres - 4:00 p.m. - Sportsnet Pacific, TSN 1040
Vancouver Canucks: 35-22-3, 73 points, second in Pacific Division
Buffalo Sabres: 18-38-5, 41 points, eights in Atlantic Division
You have to give credit to Buffalo Sabres general manager Tim Murray. He took over a team that recognized its best path to success is to stockpile draft picks and prospects.
At the 3/4 mark of the 2014-15 NHL season, the Sabres are laser-focused on finishing 30th in the NHL and securing the best possible chance at grand prize Connor McDavid. They're five points behind the Edmonton Oilers.
I was going to make a crack about how it takes the Sabres a month to accumulate five points, but Buffalo has actually been on a bit of a roll of late. They've lost in regulation just once in their last five games, going 2-1-2 since Feb. 17. And they'll be looking for their second straight win after a 4-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.
Tonight's game was supposed to be Ryan Miller's emotional homecoming to the rink where he spent 11 seasons, but it has now been confirmed: Miller has a sprained knee.
Matt Larkin of
The Hockey News conducted
a recent interview with Miller, where he talks about getting settled in Vancouver. “We’re still getting the hang of the area, still building relationships with people,” Miller said. “I guess we’re going to have some deep roots pretty soon when our son is born.”
Miller's baby is due in three weeks. If there's any silver lining to his injury, it's that he'll be able to be close to his wife during and after the birth.
Larkin also reminds us of the details of Ryan Miller's deal with Vancouver:
He’s under contract for two more seasons after this one at a hefty $6-million cap hit with a fairly strict no-trade clause that permits him to submit a five-team list of destinations to which he’d accept a move. In other words, Miller isn’t going anywhere, and that’s cause for celebration in his life.
No matter how this Lack/Markstrom situation plays out while he's hurt, I think you can almost certainly expect Miller back as the No. 1 guy again next season.
After his strong performance in Boston on Tuesday, Eddie gets the call again tonight:
Here's the rest of the news from the infirmary:
We still haven't heard anything specific on Burrows, though he's now listed on the Canucks website as having a lower-body injury.
Let's not forget—a trip back to Buffalo is a chance for red-hot Zack Kassian to show the Sabres what they gave up when they traded him for Cody Hodgson three years ago. Quite a switch from last season—now it's Kassian tearing up the scoresheet on the first line while Hodgson malingers in the bottom six—tonight on the fourth line (he's No. 19):
After his recent spurt, Kassian is up to nine goals and 15 points in 35 games while Hodgson is 3-6-9 in 57.
After the Evander Kane trade, the Sabres lineup is thinner than ever. Tyler Myers and Drew Stafford are gone and their injury list is long, with everyone from Tyler Ennis and Zemgus Girgensons to Josh Gorges on the sidelines.
Another ex-Canuck, Zac Dalpe, slots into the third line after being called up to help out with injuries. And let's not forget that, as a Niagara Falls native, Canucks defenseman Adam Clendening has deep roots in the Buffalo area.
The Canucks have already done an impressive job, collecting six points on this road trip with their undermanned roster. Two more points out of Buffalo would give the team a solid 9-5 record for their busy month of February.
Contract Talks
Sportsnet's Luke Fox does a good job
in this article of summarizing the latest on the Canucks' contract dealings with their potential UFAs.
According to the sources he cites, talks have begun with Derek Dorsett, while there's no news yet from the Brad Richardson or Shawn Matthias camps. Not sure if we should read anything into that as the clock ticks down to Monday's trade deadline.
Jeff Paterson squeezed a couple of thoughts on current trade talks out of Benning when he spoke with him yesterday. Gives us a little more of an idea where Benning's head is at:
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