Buffalo records back-to-back shutouts to start West Coast swing
Boxscore
Score: Buffalo Sabres 5-0 San Jose Sharks
Shots: BUF 16-23 SJS
Buffalo Sabres Goals: Ostlund 11 (Doan, Stanley); Carrick 7 (Dahlin, Benson); Dahlin 14 (Zucker, Samuelsson); Thompson 35 (Krebs, Tuch); Carrick 8 (Stanley, Metsa).
San Jose Sharks Goals: N/A
Quick Thoughts
Slow Burner
The Sabres started this one slow, almost like they were still operating on East Coast time and it was past their bedtime. Errant passes, little movement and a general lethargy marked their play to start the game, but luckily Alex Lyon was alert and ready to play as he made a couple of big stops on clean looks to keep things level after the first period.
The Sabres were behind on shots 7-5, though they did lead 10-6 in chances but the Sharks did a really good job getting bodies in front of the puck. Both teams had had a power play each without necessarily creating too much.
Wake Up!
The second period somehow was more of the same as once again the Sharks came out hot while the Sabres were still chasing shadows. Then Owen Power took a penalty which Buffalo killed off very well.
Suddenly the Sharks amped it up with a shot that went through Lyon and rung iron, before the goalie made a couple more crucial stops. It was looking like things were going to get out of hand.
And then the Sabres started skating. A minute and forty three seconds later, they led the home side by three. Josh Doan’s shot went wide, and came back off the boards. With Nedeljkovic unsighted in goal, Noah Ostlund reacted quickest to score.
Lindy Ruff often uses the fourth line as his energy shift, and immediately after the goal, Sam Carrick added another with a screened shot that snuck in off the far post from the edge of the right faceoff circle.
The momentum had well and truly swung at that point with the Sabres quickly potting their third. A mark of Buffalo’s resurgence has been their defensemen stepping up and leading the attack, and the Sharks clearly hadn’t gotten the memo. A long feed from Mattias Samuelsson found Jason Zucker going over the blue line, and he centered for an unattended Rasmus Dahlin in the blue paint to tuck home, 3-0.
The game came alive after that with San Jose throwing more players forward leading to odd-man chances for both sides. Luckily for the Sabres Lyon remained his unflappable self, and it took two unlikely players (Jack Quinn and Owen Power) scrambling and tying up sticks in front of their own goal to preserve the score after two periods.
Buffalo still led 14-11 in scoring chances, though San Jose had the edge in shots 17-8.
Icing the Game
The Sharks are right in the thick of the Western Conference wildcard race and immediately marched up the ice to regain some respectability to start the third, but the Sabres had different ideas.
Alex Tuch nicked the puck in his own zone, Peyton Krebs passed it on to Tage Thompson who entered the zone and froze dman Desharnais in front of him with Orlov caught up-ice. Tage ripped a shot through Nedeljkovic to make it 4-0, and pretty much game over.
Despite the Sharks’ best efforts, the Sabres added salt to shark wounds with Carrick’s somewhat lucky deflection getting the trade deadline addition his second of the night and that’s how it ended with the Sabres outshot 23-16 but winning 5-0 on five even strength goals.
Odds & Ends
The Lyon King got his franchise record 10th road win in a row, the fifth in NHL history to record that milestone, joining Devan Dubnyk (11 games in 2014-15) and Evgeni Nabokov (11 games in 2009-10 and 10 games in 2007-08), Kevin Lankinen (10 games in 2024-25) and Carey Price (10 games in 2014-15).
Buffalo recorded back-to-back shutouts to start this road trip, the third time in the past decade – Jan. 15-18, 2024 (2 GP) and Jan. 23-25, 2018 (2 GP) previously.
Another deadline addition Logan Stanley is starting to settle in, picking up his first two points as a Sabre with two assists.
The Sabres were throwing haymaking checks all game long, with multiple players flattening their opponents.
The Buffalo Sabres are now 32-6-2 in their last 40 games. No team in history has more wins in a 40-game stretch since the 1995 Detroit Red Wings picked up 33.
At The Horn
The Sabres wagon just keeps on rolling, 11-1-0 in the last twelve now. In a ridiculously close Eastern Conference playoff race, Buffalo are continuing to set a breakneck pace daring anyone to keep up with them.
