Canucks VS. Sabres

The Vancouver Canucks have lost 3 games in a row. The Buffalo Sabres have lost their last 5 games. No team in the NHL is hungrier for a win than these two teams. Both teams are coming into the game after losing in regulation time to the Boston Bruins.

The Canucks are digging for gold every night but coming up with dirt.

Even with the #TankHardForBedard movement already showing up 16 games into the regular season, the Canucks are still doing everything in their power to gain the win every night.

Here are 3 factors for tonight's road game:

Tage Thompson has 16 points in his last 8 games. Thompson is a man on fire this season and is carving out a name for himself in the National Hockey League. Tage Thompson's 11 goals have him 3rd in the race for highest goal-scorer only behind Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (15) and Vancouver Canucks' Bo Horvat (13).

If the Canucks want to win this game they are going to have to cage in Tage Thompson and end his 4-game point streak.

I know right? It is absolutely shocking one of our best goal scorers and our best defenseman have yet to score a single goal this season with 16 games played. Brock Boeser, with 10 games played, has 8 assists but is also known for being a hot-and-cold streaky goal scorer. Quinn Hughes is a power play quarterback on the defensive line and has still managed to be over a point per game player with 14 assists in 12 games played.

Both are having good starts this year but their lack in finding the back of the net this season is starting to feel like it could be a game-deciding factor.

It's a shame the 3rd period is a bigger weakness to the Vancouver Canucks as kryptonite is to Superman. The Vancouver Canucks have to battle for the full 60 minutes if they want to win. As soon as the Canucks look like they have the game under lock and key, they fall short almost instantly after the final frame's face-off draw.

They have to start working on wearing down their opponent's players so that Vancouver's players are not the ones gassed in the 3rd period. It has to be a team effort.

The Vancouver Canucks face off against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY at 4:00 PM (PT) 7:00 PM (ET) tonight (November 15th, 2022).