Dahlin, Thompson each have goal and assist as Sabres beat Canucks 3-2

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Buffalo Sabres goalie Alex Lyon, left, and Bowen Byram share a laugh after defeating the Vancouver Canucks in an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (Rich Lam/The Canadian Press via AP)

Buffalo Sabres' Zach Benson, left, celebrates with teammate Josh Doan after scoring a goal against the Vancouver Canucks during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (Rich Lam/The Canadian Press via AP) — Buffalo Sabres goalie Alex Lyon, left, and Bowen Byram share a laugh after defeating the Vancouver Canucks in an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (Rich Lam/The Canadian Press via AP)

Audio By Carbonatix

1:17 AM on Friday, December 12

The Associated Press

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson each had a goal and an assist, and the Buffalo Sabres beat the struggling Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Thursday night.

Zach Benson also scored for the Sabres and Alex Lyon stopped 29 shots as Buffalo won its second straight following a three-game skid.

Kiefer Sherwood and Max Sasson scored for the Canucks, and Thatcher Demko made 12 saves in his return from a lower-body injury he suffered on Nov. 11. Vancouver has lost six of its last seven (1-5-1).

Sasson gave the Canucks a 2-1 lead 6:15 into the second, but Thompson tied it nearly 3 minutes later and Benson’s power-play goal with 5:14 to go in the period gave the Sabres the lead.

Vancouver fell to 1-13-0 when trailing after two periods.

Dahlin got the the Canucks on the scoreboard first, scoring 7 1/2 minutes into the game.

Sherwood tied it with 11 seconds remaining in the first to snap his 10-game goal-scoring drought with his team-high 13th of the season.

The Canucks were without star center Elias Pettersson, who missed a second straight game with an upper-body injury.

The Sabres were missing offensive powerhouse Alex Tuch due to illness. The right wing was tied with Thompson for the team lead in points (26) heading into the game. Trevor Kuntar slotted into the lineup, making his NHL debut one day after signing a one-year, two-way contract with Buffalo.

Up next

Sabres: At Seattle on Sunday night.

Canucks: At New Jersey on Sunday to open a five-game trip.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl