Vancouver Canucks’ Thatcher Demko shines in shutout vs Buffalo Sabres

Thatcher Demko made 26 saves to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 1-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.

It was Demko’s fourth shutout this season and the seventh shutout of his career.

“That’s typical Demko, very solid,” Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said. “Doesn’t get rattled. Looks big in the net. Just a hell of a game by him.”

Sam Lafferty scored the only goal of the game. The NHL-leading Canucks have won five games in a row, all on the road.

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“It was kind of like a mucky type of game, which is kind of good,” Tocchet said. “I love (it) when you have these types of games and see that resolve, and I thought we did a good job.”

The Canucks’ travel plans are being delayed. Rather than heading to Columbus, the team is staying in Buffalo with a major winter storm hitting the region.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 22 saves for Buffalo. It was the first time the Sabres have been shut out since Dec. 16.

“We played a really good game,” Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin said. “Just got to put the puck in the net. It’s frustrating, but it is what it is.”

Lafferty scored at 2:05 in the second period, burying a rebound at the top of the Sabres crease. It was his 10th goal of the season.

There were two lengthy reviews in the second period. The first came at the beginning of the period when Brock Boeser appeared to score for the Canucks on a hard wrist shot, but the goal was overturned after an offside review. The second came minutes later when J.T. Miller appeared to elbow Dahlin in the head, but Miller was only given a two-minute minor penalty for elbowing.

Sabres defenceman Mattias Samuelsson left the game with an upper-body injury in the second period and did not return. Samuelsson appeared to take a hit to the head from Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek.

Buffalo’s best opportunity to score came 4:14 in the third period when Dylan Cozens fired a hard slap shot off the crossbar on the power play. JJ Peterka also had an opportunity with a slap shot from the slot with 1:13 remaining.

Up next for the Canucks, a visit to Columbus on Monday.