VANCOUVER — Rasmus Dahlin had a goal and an assist and his Buffalo Sabers beat the struggling Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Thursday.
Tage Thompson also had a goal and an assist for the Sabers (13-14-4), and Zach Benson scored his first goal of the season to round out the scoring.
Alex Lyon stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced as Buffalo won its second straight game.
The Canucks (11-17-3) got goals from Kiefer Sherwood and Max Sasson but were unable to hold a 2-1 lead in the second period.
Thatcher Demko made 12 saves for Vancouver in his return from a lower-body injury suffered on Nov. 11.
The Canucks were without star center Elias Pettersson, who missed his second straight game with an upper-body injury.
Takeaway
Canucks: Sasson gave the home team a 2-1 lead with 6:15 left in the second, but Buffalo tied the game and then took the lead. Vancouver has had a hard time putting together a third-period comeback this season, with the team going 1-13-0 when they trailed in the final frame.
Sabers: Power forward Alex Tuch was absent due to illness. The right winger was tied with Thompson for the team lead in points (26) heading into the game. Trevor Kuntar made the roster, making his NHL debut one day after signing a one-year, two-way contract with Buffalo.
Key Point
Over the top of the net, Benson fired a shot past Demko to give the Sabers a 3-2 lead with a power-play goal at 14:46 of the second minute.
Key Statistics
Sherwood scored 19:49 into the first frame and had a goal in 10 games. The hard-hitting forward leads the Canucks in scoring with 13 goals on the season.
Next
Canucks: Begin a five-game road trip against the New Jersey Devils on Sunday.
Sabres: Visit the Kraken in Seattle on Sunday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 11, 2025.
