With the celebratory mood of Joe Thornton's
number retirement ceremony still fresh in the SAP Center air, the Sharks let a
sellout crowd down on Saturday night with a disappointing 4-2 loss to the
Buffalo Sabres. Facing a Sabres team that played an overtime game less than 24
hours earlier, the Sharks blew a 2-1 3rd period lead, allowing the fatigued
Sabres to score three 3rd period goals. It was another reminder that this
version of the Sharks is miles away from the Thornton heyday rosters.
In beating San Jose, the Sabres grabbed their 5th consecutive win against San
Jose. The Sabres haven't qualified for the playoffs in 13 seasons, which is
another indicator of how far the Sharks have to go to build any credibility in
the legaue.
It was more late letdown and less inspiring hockey that
Ryan Warsofsky repeatedly preaches.
Fabian Zetterlund put the Sharks
on top 1-0 at 9:59 of the opening period with a put-back shot after Jake Walman
bounced a shot off former Sharks goaltender James Reimer. Zetterlnd was cutting
through the slot from left to right as the rebound landed right on his stick
for the easy deposit.
Payton Krebs tied things up 64 seconds later
with a blast from the left side that beat Mackenzie Blackwood. The former Vegas
Golden Knights number one draft pick collected a Bowen Byram feed then slid up
the left wing before unloading on the Sharks net.
The only other
notable event in the period was a nice hit my Luke Kunin, who level Sam
Lafferty with the open ice check. Lafferty took exception to the hit and
engaged Kunin. The pair were both assessed cross checking and roughing minors.
Kunin got his name on the score sheet in a more positive way 4:07 into
the 2nd period when he pushed a backhand chance past Reimer from out front.
Tyler Toffoli made a nice feed off the end boards, but Kunin had to collect the
pass and fend off Lafferty and Connor Clifton who collapsed on him in the slot.
Reimer prevented a Macklin Celebrini goal 4 minutes later by stopping
a shot from the right side with an arm save, then snatching it out of the air
while laying face down on the ice.
Toffoli missed on his own prime
chance in the last minute of the period when his shot form the high slot sailed
wide right.
The Sabres should have been the fatigued team,
having played an overtime game less than 24 hours earlier in Anaheim. That
didn't prevent them from tying the game 2 minutes into the 3rd period. Dylan
Cozens scored his 4th of the season by blasting a shot from the high slot past
Blackwood.
A Rasmus Dahlin cross check on Alex Wennberg setup a Sharks
power play at 4:42, but the Sharks figured out a way to shoot themselves in the
foot. Alex Tuch intercepted a puck at the Sabres blueline before racing up ice
and slipping a puck past Blackwood for their first lead of the night.
San Jose found themselves with another advantage when Payton Krebs took a
hooking penalty at 12:22 and then the Sabres were called for too many men to
setup 19 seconds of 5-on-3 play. The Sharks did nothing with the reduction in
opposing players on the ice.
San Jose would finish the evening 0-for-5
on the power play.
Dahlin capped the games scoring with an empty net
goal with 0.4 seconds left in the contest.
Game Notes:
* It was an emotional day as the Sharks honored Joe Thornton by retiring his
#19 in a pre-game ceremony.
* Reclusive owner Hasso Plattner was in
attendance for the Thornton ceremony as well as the game.
* The
starting lineup for San Jose took the ice for the national anthem with Jr
Sharks players which included Thornton's son River.
* Tyler Toffoli
(6) and Alex Wennberg (5) accounted for 11 of the Sharks 33 shots in the game.
Dylan Cozens recorded 8 of the Sabres 31 shots.
* Former Sharks
netminder James Reimer was a waiver claim by the Sabres last week. He returned
to his old stomping grounds, making 31 saves in the win.
