With trade speculation swirling about Buffalo Sabres center Dylan Cozens, 20-year-old Jiri Kulich impressed coach Lindy Ruff on the first line.

The Buffalo Sabres haven't clinched a playoff berth since 2011-12. Their ongoing struggle to rise out of the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings

There was trade speculation centring around the Canucks and Byram in his first NHL stop with the Colorado Avalanche and it’s continued in his time with the Sabres. He doesn’t duck the idea that such scuttlebutt can be out there, but he maintains that his attention is focused elsewhere.

Jiri Kulich had a goal and two assists to help the visiting Buffalo Sabres rally for a 3-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. JJ Peterka added a goal and two assists, Tage Thompson also scored and Rasmus Dahlin had two assists for the Sabres, who had lost three of their previous four games. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 32 saves for the win.

The Buffalo Sabres started their four-game Western Conference road trip on Monday with a very sub-par effort in Seattle against the Kraken. The venue changes Tuesday, as Buffalo will face the Vancouver Canucks.

The Seattle Kraken and the Buffalo Sabres faced off for their second match in ten days. It was the Kraken who were victorious with a 6-4 win.

SEATTLE (AP) — Jamie Oleksiak scored the go-ahead goal in the second period, and Adam Larsson and Jared McCann added scores in the third as the Seattle Kraken beat the Buffalo Sabres 6-4 on Monday. Oleksiak's goal at the 16:34 mark snapped a 3-all tie and came less than a minute after Buffalo's Tage Thompson scored to erase a two-goal deficit.

The Kraken scored within a minute of Buffalo scoring as Seattle beat the Sabres 6-4 for their third victory in the past four games.

Tuch entered Monday's play with 14 goals and 19 assists in 45 games – and holding a team-best rating of plus-15. HE had three short-handed goals, no power-play goals and scored just once over an 11-game stretch during the club's 13-game winless streak.

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff swapped Ryan McLeod and Dylan Cozens atop the lineup during the win over the Hurricanes, a move that paid immediate dividends with both players scoring goals on their new lines.

Ryan McLeod scored his first-career hat trick and the Buffalo Sabres held on for 4-2 win against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday.

(AP Photo/Adrian Kraus) Buffalo Sabres center Dylan Cozens (24) celebrates with right wing Alex Tuch, left, and right wing JJ Peterka (77) after scoring during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes in Buffalo, N.Y ...