Buffalo Sabres vs. Vancouver Canucks: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 10/22/2022

Time: 10 p.m. ET

Venue: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC

Where to watch: CBC, SNO, SNP, MSG-B

DraftKings: Canucks -170, Sabres +145

FanDuel: Canucks -176, Sabres +146

BetMGM: Canucks -175, Sabres +145

Caesars: Canucks -178, Sabres +150

Sabres: 3-1-0

Canucks: 0-3-2

Sabres: won 6-3 at Flames

Canucks: lost 4-3 (OT) at Wild

The Buffalo Sabres currently rule all of Canada. You’d be surprised at that until you go to Buffalo and see just how close everything is in Canada vicinity. Hell, you get close to the Sabres’ arena and see a giant Tim Hortons sitting on the corner. If they wanted to rule Canada, they’d have every right to do such, hence why their two wins against Edmonton and Calgary this week has them feeling all sorts of confident heading into Saturday’s game with the Vancouver Canucks.

The Sabres couldn’t have pictured a better start to this season, outside of a 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers. Buffalo has three wins with 14 goals scored combined in those wins. All three wins have come against Canadian teams, hilariously enough, and there’s a chance the Sabres can realistically get this fourth win with how well they played against Calgary and Edmonton. The Sabres are coming off a 6-3 win in Calgary on Thursday in which Alex Tuch recorded his first ever hat trick and Eric Comrie had another strong start for the Sabres in net. Not to mention Rasmus Dahlin scored for the fourth straight game, an NHL record for defensemen to begin the season.

"It's the style of hockey we want to play," Tuch said. "We want to be right in their face. We want to go right ahead. Playing offense is a lot more fun than playing defense. It really is. We're trying to play as simple as possible and we're just going. Whenever we have a chance we're going, and it's fun, and we're playing together."

The style of hockey they’re playing right now is indicative to the belief they have in Don Granato and the young core they have. Tuch is the centerpiece to that and will be the eventual longtime captain in Buffalo for years to come. If the prospects continue to develop and they find some consistency in goaltending, the rebuild won’t be far off in Buffalo.

And while the Sabres are rolling through Canada for wins, the Canucks would just love a win in general. The Canucks of Vancouver, forever entrenched in their name, have played five games this season. They have blown multi-goal leads in four of them and failed to hang onto a lead in their latest one, a 4-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild in overtime. Vancouver had the lead twice before the Wild eventually tied it up and won the game. Coach Bruce Boudreau was denied his 600th win, but it’s a matter of the Canucks just trying to win at this point.

"I told the players today. I said, 'One of the things when you're not winning because you want to win so bad, you start learning good habits,'" Boudreau said. "The good habits keep coming. You might still lose for a couple, but once you get those good habits down, then you start winning and you keep those good habits. It's usually a way to be successful."

What Vancouver is going through right now is unlike anything we’ve ever seen. We know it can’t last forever, but this is weird and you should want it to last one more game for all the laughs.

If you’re not on the Buffalo bandwagon, get on it now. They might be a year away, but the Sabres are going to be fun this year. Watch out if they get a goalie. Sabres win 4-3

Sabres are 17-17 in non-conference games the last three years.

Sabres are 0-6 the last three years when scoring 6 or more the prior game.

Sabres are 4-11 the last three years after winning two straight.

Sabres:

Jeff Skinner -- Tage Thompson -- Alex Tuch

Vinnie Hinostroza -- Dylan Cozens -- JJ Peterka

Rasmus Asplund -- Casey Mittelstadt -- Victor Olofsson

Peyton Krebs -- Zemgus Girgensons -- Kyle Okposo

Mattias Samuelsson -- Rasmus Dahlin

Owen Power -- Henri Jokiharju

Jacob Bryson -- Casey Fitzgerald

Craig Anderson

Canucks:

Conor Garland -- J.T. Miller -- Ilya Mikheyev

Vasily Podkolzin -- Elias Pettersson -- Andrei Kuzmenko

Tanner Pearson -- Bo Horvat -- Brock Boeser

Dakota Joshua -- Nils Aman -- Curtis Lazar

Quinn Hughes -- Luke Schenn

Oliver Ekman-Larsson -- Tyler Myers

Riley Stillman -- Kyle Burroughs

Thatcher Demko

Points: Alex Tuch -- 6

Goals: Alex Tuch -- 5

Assists: Vinnie Hinostroza -- 4

Goalie: Eric Comrie -- 2-1-0, 3.01 GAA, .930 SV%

Points: Elias Pettersson -- 6

Goals: Bo Horvat -- 4

Assists: Quinn Hughes -- 5

Goalie: Thatcher Demko -- 0-3-1, 4.30 GAA, .861 SV%