Thanks to Brad Lukowich's first goal in more than two years, the Vancouver Canucks still haven't lost at home to the Buffalo Sabres in more than a decade.

Lukowich scored for the first time in 111 NHL games, with 14:39 remaining, as the Canucks beat the Sabres 3-2 in front of 18,810 fans at General Motors Place on Monday night.

"Keep your stick on the ice and expect the unexpected," Lukowich said.

The Sabres are 0-5-0 with a tie in their last six visits to Vancouver, where they haven't won since Feb. 28, 1999.

"What we needed was a lot more support and tightening up and we ended up playing too cautious against them," Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller said. "That's what they want — they want to slow it down and we let them do it."

Lukowich, known more for blocking shots than taking them, pinched in from the point, took a between-the-legs pass from Daniel Sedin and flicked the puck over Miller's trapper for his first NHL goal since Nov. 5, 2007, when he patrolled the blue-line for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"It's a dream come true," enthused Lukowich, a Cranbrook, B.C., native who played junior hockey in Kamloops.

"I've been a Canuck fan since I was three or four years old. I've still got my sweaters.

"They've been handed down to my nephews now. For me to be playing in my hometown, it's pretty amazing."

"He was screaming like crazy, so he was easy to find," Sedin joked about Lukowich, recalled from the AHL's Texas Stars to help fill the void left by injuries to regular rearguards Kevin Bieksa (ankle), Willie Mitchell (concussion) and Sami Salo (groin).

"I kind of saw him when I faked the shot. It was an easy pass to make and a nice shot."

Lukowich has two points and a solid plus-six rating in eight games since being promoted from the Austin-based affiliate.

"I couldn't be happier for him," Canucks defenceman Shane O'Brien said. "He has worked his way back and he has been good for us since he has been here."

Henrik Sedin led the Canucks (32-18-2) with a goal and an assist, Mikael Samuelsson also scored and Daniel Sedin had two assists.

Adam Mair and Thomas Vanek tallied for the slumping Sabres (30-14-7), who concluded their seven-game road swing, their longest trek this season, with a 2-3-2 mark and four straight losses, their longest skid this season.

Conversely, the Canucks skated to a fifth consecutive victory and 16th in the past 22 games (16-4-2), no doubt prospering from a lengthy string of home games to offset their upcoming road trip to accommodate the Olympics.

Vancouver, which improved to 8-1-1 in its last 10 home games and 22-7-1 overall at GM Place, hosts the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night before embarking on the longest road trip in NHL history.

The gruelling, 14-game trek begins Saturday at Toronto as part of the Hockey Day In Canada celebration (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 12 p.m. ET).

'I don't like it'

Mair opened the scoring 3:13 into the second period, but Samuelsson tied it 1-1 exactly five minutes later as he deked Sabres defenceman Henrik Tallinder and beat Miller between the pads with a backhand shot for his 18th goal.

Alex Burrows later sprung Henrik Sedin on a breakaway and the NHL's leading point-getter made no mistake, sweeping the puck around a sprawling Miller with an exceptional forehand deke for a 2-1 lead at 11:33.

Sedin leads the NHL with 76 points, including 24 goals, while Burrows extended his personal point streak to 12 games.

Factor in Daniel Sedin's contributions and the formidable trio has combined for 29 goals and 82 points in their last 15 games.

"Their chemistry is as good as any chemistry," Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff noted. "They can put pucks over sticks, through legs, saucer pucks backhand, forehand."

The period ended with controversy as Ryan Kesler rang a shot off the post on a Canucks' power play and Paul Gaustad was credited with scoring the tying tally on the counter-attack, only to have the short-handed equalizer waved off because he was being penalized for a cross check.

"I understand it, I don't like it," Ruff barked. "I don't like the call."

"I just felt it was more incidental contact. If you're going to call that, you better call about 75 cross checks in the game around the front of the net."

"They stayed in the blue [crease] and they were pushing guys," Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault pointed out. "We were telling [the officials] and they were telling us that they were seeing it. They saw it and they called it."

Buffalo tied it for real on Vanek's power-play marker 1:49 into the third period, with Tim Connolly earning an assist to extend his point streak to 16 games — the longest active streak in the NHL (seven goals, 18 assists).

Then, the Sedins — and Lukowich — worked their winning magic.

"You've got to let those guys do their thing," Vigneault said. "I mean, Lukowich going up in the play there? As long as it works, as long as it works. It was an unbelievable play. We were all going, 'Whoa!'"

With files from The Canadian Press