The Vancouver Canucks defeated the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 in overtime on Friday.

The Vancouver Canucks needed overtime but found a way to defeat the Buffalo Sabres 4-3. Jake DeBrusk, Conor Garland (2) and Pius Suter scored the goals, while Kevin Lankinen was spectacular, stopping 31 of the 34 shots he faced. With the win, the Canucks improve to 9-2-0 on the road and 3-1-0 on their current six-game road trip. 

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This game featured a historic moment as Quinn Hughes tied Alex Edler for the most assists by a defenceman in franchise history. Hughes recorded his 310th assist on Garland's overtime goal, achieving the feat in 537 games fewer than Edler. With two more games on this road trip, Hughes will likely return to Vancouver as the franchise's all-time assist leader among defensemen.

The Canucks also got stellar goaltending once again from Lankinen, who tied an NHL record with Glenn Hall and Cam Talbot (2023-24) as the only goaltender to start a season 9-0-0 on the road. If not for Lankinen's third period, where he stopped 16 of 18 shots, there is a very good chance that Buffalo would have come back and won in regulation. Now with a record of 11-3-2, Lankinen has gone above and beyond in helping Vancouver start the year strong in the absence of Thatcher Demko. 

Garland was also a standout, not just in the offensive zone but also defensively. In 23:27 of ice time, he scored two goals including the game-winner, had six shots and a blocked shots which led to Suter's goal in the third period. Now, with 21 points in 22 games this season, Garland continues to lead by example night after night. 

Post-game, Garland was asked about his team's performance, saying, "We had a great special teams night. Penalty kill was really good. Power play, timely goal. I messed up on the first one at the beginning of the period, so nice to rebound and get another opportunity to get one in there. Giving up the lead, great fight in overtime there to get another point. It's a big point for us. It's a tough road trip, so happy with our start."

As for Tocchet, he singled out the strong play of Hughes, Lankinen and Garland. Post-game, he said, "Yeah, it's key moments, right? Obviously, Lanks (Lankinen), that save in overtime. Those are big-time plays for us. Gars (Garland), Hughes had to puck the whole time in overtime. You're always looking for key moments for guys. I think when you look at those kind of key moments. You know, the overall game there's ebbs and flows. I thought we hung in there; a good road game. But the key moments are the big things that stick out for me."

Speaking of the penalty kill, the group had a strong night, going five for five. While Lankinen played a big role, stopping all eight shots he faced, the penalty killers did a great job limiting scoring chances and getting in the way of shooting lanes. Vancouver's ability to kill penalties has been a massive reason behind their success on the road this season and played a key role in today's win. 

While the Canucks did give up a lead, this was a well-deserved win for the team. They controlled the puck for almost the entire overtime while their defence performed well despite the absence of Filip Hronek. With a chance for Hughes to make history on Sunday, the team should be fired up to help their captain set the franchise's all-time mark for assists by a defenceman on Sunday when Vancouver faces off against the team that famously passed on Hughes during the 2018 NHL Draft. 

Facts and Stats:

- Conor Garland's 32nd multi-point game ties Gary Lupal, Sami Salo, Gerry O'Flaherty, Brian Bradley and Jannik Hansen for the 52nd most in franchise history 

- Conor Garland records the second overtime goal of his NHL career

- Brock Boeser's 23rd multi-assist game ties Bo Horvat for the 23rd most in franchise history 

- Quinn Hughes records his 69th career multi-assist game 

Scoring Summary:

1st Period:

17:33- BUF: Bowen Byram (4) from Zach Benson

2nd Period:

18:12- VAN: Jake DeBrusk (7) from Pius Suter and Brock Boeser

3rd Period:

5:15- VAN: Conor Garland (7) from Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes (PPG)
9:00- VAN: Pius Suter (8) from Conor Garland 
13:18- BUF: Dylan Cozens (5)
14:57- BUF: Dylan Cozens (6) from Zach Benson and Henri Jokiharju

Overtime:

3:59- VAN: Conor Garland (8) from Quinn Hughes

Up Next:

The Canucks will have yet another unusual start time on Sunday when they face off against the Detroit Red Wings. Last season, the two teams split their season series, with each picking up wins at home. Game time is set for 9:30 am PT from Little Caesars Arena.