VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- For a change, there were some smiles in the Vancouver Canucks' dressing room Monday night.

The biggest grin might have belonged to right winger Radim Vrbata, who recorded his first hat trick as a Canuck in a 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres. The victory snapped a five-game Vancouver losing streak.

"It's a big relief," said Vrbata, who has struggled scoring this season. "It's something positive you want to build off.

"I think this will help going forward, for me individually and as a group. We were struggling the last couple of games finding our game. Tonight was a good game."

The Canucks reduced their turnovers, managed 31 shots on Sabres goaltender Linus Ullmark and controlled long stretches of play. They also showed some energy, something had been lacking while losing 13 of their previous 16 games before Monday.

"We were looking for a good performance for a win and to feel a little better about ourselves," said Vrbata, who collected his sixth career hat trick. "Even though it's just one game, it's a good start."

Center Henrik Sedin, on the power play, and left winger Brandon Prust, with his first goal as a Canuck, also scored for Vancouver (10-11-8). Left winger Daniel Sedin had two assists.

Right wingers Brian Gionta and Sam Reinhart scored for Buffalo. The Sabres (11-14-3) are 1-2-1 in their past four games.

Vrbata scored his third goal of the night at 14:28 of the third period. He took a pass from right winger Adam Cracknell and beat Ullmark with a low shot on the blocker side. His also scored twice in the first period as the Canucks battled back from an early 1-0 deficit.

Vrbata's last three-goal game was Oct. 3, 2013, against the New York Rangers when he was a member of the Phoenix Coyotes. A 31-goal scorer last year, Vrbata had just three goals in the first 19 games this year. He now has six in his past eight games.

"You do things in games before, and it just doesn't happen for you," he said. "When it does, you take it and you are happy about it. It gives you confidence and a little extra jump.

"This is hopefully something positive for me and for everybody going forward."

Henrik Sedin hopes the win restores some confidence to the Canucks.

"It's a good feeling to come in and see a lot of smiles," he said. "It was huge just to get some guys scoring. There has been a stretch here you can tell there's guys that have been thinking hockey differently. Tonight, we were on the same page."

Gionta gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 6:48 of the first period after swatting a puck out of the air behind Canucks goaltender Ryan Miller. Soon after, the Sabres took a too-many-men penalty, and that seemed to drain some of Buffalo's energy.

Overall, the Sabres were whistled for six penalties, and they gave up a four-on-three power-play goal.

"We ended up taking too many penalties," Buffalo coach Dan Bylsma said. "They were real dominant with their power play, and we gave them too many opportunities to do it. They got momentum and carried the play because of it."

Gionta said the Sabres couldn't maintain their early momentum.

"It's about how we are playing right now, how we are managing the puck," he said. "Too many turnovers, lack of assignments in the D-zone. We've got to find ways not to shot ourselves in the foot."

Miller, a former Sabre, stopped 32 shots. Ullmark made 26 saves.

Vancouver right winger Jannik Hansen said the win was an important stepping stone, but only if the Canucks continue to improve.

"We need to be mindful we don't fall into bad habits," he said. "There is a lot of stuff you can clean up after tonight."

NOTES: LW Sven Baertschi, a healthy scratch in two of the previous four games, returned to the Canucks' lineup, as did D Alex Biega. ... LW Ronalds Kenins and D Yannick Weber were Vancouver's healthy scratches. ... Canucks LW Brandon Prust was fined $5,000 for spearing Boston LW Brad Marchand in the third period of a 4-0 loss Saturday. .... The Canucks have had three losing streaks of three or more games this year. ...Vancouver's four-game homestand ends Wednesday against the New York Rangers. ... D Mike Weber, who missed 13 games with a knee injury, returned to the Buffalo lineup. ... Sabres C Zemgus Girgensons played despite needing 12 stitches after being hit in the face by a puck in the third period Sunday during a 4-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. ... C Cal O'Reilly and D Jake McCabe were healthy scratches for Buffalo. ... The Sabres' three-game road trip ends Thursday in Calgary.