SAN JOSE, Calif. – When the Buffalo Sabres gathered in the visitors’ dressing room during the second intermission Saturday night, there was a simple message conveyed by their leaders, including coach Don Granato, to help the group refocus after a challenging 40 minutes on the ice in SAP Center.
“We just came in here and said, ’20 minutes hard and we go back on a happy plane,” recalled Sabres center Dylan Cozens.
By heeding that advice, the Sabres returned to Buffalo two points closer to a playoff spot.
Jeff Skinner scored the tie-breaking goal after Tage Thompson ripped the puck away from a Sharks defenseman, then Rasmus Dahlin made a jaw-dropping play to escape his own corner and setup Alex Tuch for an empty netter to give the Sabres a 4-2 win in San Jose.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made it possible by stopping 25 shots in the two periods before that intermission chat. When his teammates' turnovers led to two breakaways, Luukkonen made bail-out saves. He used his blocker to deflect the puck away in the final moments of the first period Sharks defenseman Jacob MacDonald shot from below the left faceoff dot.
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The Sabres responded with one of their best periods of the three-game road trip through California. They stopped forcing passes and turning the puck over. The Sabres had 18 shots on goal in the third period, and Skinner's goal with 10:08 remaining wasn't a remarkable play. It sent them back to Buffalo with four of six points on a trip that began five days earlier with a loss in Los Angeles.
“We finally decided to shoot a puck and we did not through two periods,” said Granato. “We made a lot of work for ourselves because we were unwilling to shoot a puck. We wanted to make a pretty play or a perfect play instead of just simple and hard. Upie had to keep us in there for two periods, but I give our guys a lot of credit. They did what they needed to in the third.”
This could have been a game that haunted the Sabres. Five teams competing with them for a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference lost Saturday. Twenty-eight games remain, but every point matters as Buffalo tries to snap the franchise’s 11-year playoff drought. The Sabres couldn't afford to lose to San Jose. Though the Sharks have high-end skill, led by Erik Karlsson and Timo Meier, they’ve won only five games at home all season.
The Sharks are a fast, aggressive team, but their pressure on the puck wasn't the only reason why the Sabres turned the puck over so often. Their problems began shortly after Dylan Cozens gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead with his quick shot from an odd angle at the bottom of the right circle.
The Sabres started overpassing again. It's been an issue for them at times this season. They're a young, skilled, confident team, and their on-ice instincts have created numerous highlight reel goals, but they try those plays too often. Forcing passes led to turnovers Saturday night against the Sharks. Thompson and Tuch had a 2-on-1 that ended with a forced pass instead of a shot.
San Jose made 1-1 moments later when Evgeny Svechnikov tipped MacDonald's wrist shot past Luukkonen with 3:11 left in the first period. The Sabres were outshot 10-1 over the final 13 minutes and recorded only three shots on goal during a 28-minute span that stretched into the latter half of the second period. Luukkonen faced 11 high-danger scoring chances before the third started with the score tied, 2-2.
The Sabres had only eight shots on goal in the second, but Owen Power scored from in tight by collecting a pass from Skinner and sliding the puck past goalie Kaapo Kahkonen. The Sharks answered when Karlsson's wrist shot ricocheted off the end boards and the puck went directly to Alexander Barabanov. Timo Meier struck the post with a wrist shot from the right circle a few minutes later.
“UPL obviously kept us in it early,” said Skinner, who scored his 21st goal of the season and, like Tuch, finished with two points. “He made some really big stops, especially the one at the end of the first.”
Puck luck wasn’t on the Sabres’ side, either. Jack Quinn hit the post in the first period. Tyson Jost and Thompson did the same in the second. Peyton Krebs was denied on a penalty shot. The Sabres took over in the third when Thompson pried the puck away from defenseman Mario Ferraro behind the net, fought his way to the front and passed over to the other side of the crease to setup Skinner's goal.
The Sharks pulled their goalie for an extra attacker with over two minutes remaining, but the Sabres defended well until Tuch secured the win with his 26th goal of the season.
“You look at games earlier in the season or even back to last year, being in spots like that and we had losses and you always want to take something from those,” said Thompson. “That’s something we’ve taken from those in the past and now we’re coming out on the right side of it.”
Despite two bad periods Saturday and the loss in Los Angeles to start the trip, Buffalo beat San Jose and Anaheim to draw within three points of the New York Islanders for the second-wild card spot. The Sabres have five games in hand over the Islanders and Florida Panthers, who are two points ahead of Buffalo.
The schedule ahead is challenging. Twelve of their next 13 games are against contenders, including two apiece against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals. The Sabres need to start winning at home. Only three NHL teams have fewer wins at home than the Sabres' 11 at KeyBank Center this season. They're in playoff contention because they lead the league in road wins since Nov. 11.
“Took us a little bit to get going after the break, but I feel like we’re kind of back in stride now,” said Thompson. “That was a big road trip getting two out of three and now we just have to keep it rolling.”
Here are other observations from the game:
1. Rare air
Few defensemen at Power’s age in recent years have shown such impressive instincts in the offensive zone. He knows how to read the game in those situations. When Skinner held the puck at the right point waiting for someone to cut to the net, Power skated deep into the offensive zone to create chaos for the Sharks.
Skinner threaded a pass through two Sharks defenders to Power, who quickly deked to his backhand to beat Kahkonen five-hole for the 2-1 lead. The goal was Power’s fourth of the season. He became the fifth Sabres rookie defenseman with 20 points since 2000-01, joining Dahlin (2018-19), Tyler Myers (2009-10), Nathan Paetsch (2006-07) and Dmitri Kalinin (2000-01).
2. Another mark
This was another impressive performance by Dylan Cozens.
His line with Peterka and Victor Olofsson was the Sabres’ best in terms of shot-attempt differential at 5-on-5 against the Sharks. And Cozens made another play that showcased how his game has evolved over the past year.
Cozens got the puck in the defensive zone, bolted through the neutral zone along the right wall and skated around the Sharks’ defensive before rifling the puck between Kahkonen’s legs. The goal was Cozens’ 20th of the season. In the past, Cozens might have forced a cross-ice pass instead of driving to the net and firing a shot on goal.
The Sabres have an NHL-best five 20-goal scorers through 54 games. The franchise hasn’t had this many players reach that milestone since 2007-08 when it was done by Thomas Vanek, Derek Roy, Jason Pominville, Ales Kotalik and Jochen Hecht.
3. Still struggling
The Sabres had zero shots on goal during their only power-play opportunity, and they’re 7 for 50 on the man-advantage over their last 17 games. Buffalo is 8-7-2 during that span. It’s a trend the Sabres will have to reverse because special teams become more important as 5-on-5 play tightens up this time of the season.
4. Next
The Sabres host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday in KeyBank Center at 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast exclusively on ESPN+ and Hulu.
There were no signs of frustration or regret as the Sabres basked in the satisfaction of finishing their three-game road trip through California with a 4-2 win over the San Jose Sharks.
