VANCOUVER, British Columbia — There are benefits to playing against — and losing to — the top team in the NHL.

"Yeah, it shows we've got to learn," Buffalo Sabres defenseman Toni Lydman said.

The Sabres practiced in Vancouver on Sunday and tried to shake off Saturday's 5-2 loss to

San Jose. Buffalo held down the league's best for long stretches while dictating play. It

didn't matter. The Sabres made several costly mistakes while the Sharks committed only one.

The situation showed Buffalo the difference between a perennial Stanley Cup contender and a

team eager to return to the postseason.

"We've got to be a little better," Lydman said. "We've got to take care of the puck. We've

got to make sure we don't give the other team the opportunities.

"The further the season is going — spring is coming — the tougher the games are

to win. We have to cut down on the mistakes and make sure we play solid from start to finish."

The next chance comes tonight against another team with championship aspirations. The

Sabres visit the Vancouver Canucks, who trounced Chicago, 5-1, on Saturday to win their fourth

in a row.

The Sabres enter GM Place trying to win for the first time in four games. They hit the

final stop on their seven-game road trip 0-2-1 in the previous three outings. They are 2-2-2

on the season's longest journey.

Coach Lindy Ruff set a goal of at least nine points on the trip. The most Buffalo can get

is eight.

"We obviously are not going to get to where we wanted," Ruff said. "We knew it was a tough

trip. It could still be a good trip if we win."

To do that, the Sabres need to show what they learned after getting dunked in the Shark

Tank.

"We know we're capable of playing with them, that's for sure," right wing Jason Pominville

said. "There's a lot of things you can learn from [that] game. The amount of work they put

into a game, the patience they have.

"They don't hand you opportunities. You have to work for everything you get, and those are

things we're going to have to do to be successful."

The Sabres will need to be better in at least two areas to finish their two-week journey on

a winning note. First, they'll need to make fewer mistakes. Two glaring errors by defenseman

Steve Montador ended up in the Buffalo net, with one tying the game and the other allowing San

Jose to pull away in the third period.

"We made a couple mistakes," Ruff said. "We had one defenseman that had a pretty rough

night. They took advantage of it."

Ruff hadn't decided whether to stay with the veteran defenseman or sit him for Andrej

Sekera, who hasn't played since Dec. 27.

"It's my responsibility to have a conversation with [Montador], which I haven't had yet,"

Ruff said Sunday afternoon. "Overall, he's been real good for us. It was a rough night. We've

got Andrej sitting there who's been patiently waiting to play. I just don't have the right

answer for that right now."

The second area in which the Sabres need to improve is execution. They outshot the Sharks,

40-24, but that doesn't include their point-blank chances that rang off iron rather than light

the goal lamp.

"We hit three crossbars in a matter of minutes," center Derek Roy said. "We have to put

those away. We have to bear down on those chances."

. . .

Vancouver will host the world in a matter of weeks, with

the Winter Olympics beginning Feb. 12. The signs of the coming event are omnipresent, which

has Ruff antsy. He is an assistant coach for Canada's hockey team.

"It's almost a nervous excitement," Ruff said. "Somebody said to me [Sunday] morning, "Only

34 million people are counting on you.' I said, "Do we have to start that already?'

"It's a great opportunity. It's a great opportunity for the players, and it's a special

opportunity for myself to be involved. I'm looking forward to it. It'll be here before you

even know it, and it'll be gone before you know it, too. That's the incredible part of it."