The Buffalo Sabres went in to San Jose last night with a 9-0-1 points streak against one of the best teams in the West over the last decade. It was one of the weirder point streaks in the NHL, the equivalent of David beating Goliath not once, but twice a year for five straight years.
Last night, ol’ Davey’s rock struck home again, and the Sabres improved to 10-0-1 against the Sharks in their last 11 games with a 3-1 win.
Things certainly didn’t start well for the Sabres – just 90 seconds into the game, Marc-Edouard Vlasic gave the Sharks an early lead that the Sharks would hold until the middle of the second period, when Johan Larsson tied the game by throwing the puck (and himself) into the net for his third goal of the season.
The game would remain tied into the third thanks to strong defensive plays from Zach Bogosian breaking up a 3-on-1 and Chad Johnson making a hilarious juggling, bobbling save with his blocker. Bogosian would chip in on offense as well, scoring his fourth of the season and his third in the last three games on a screened shot that deflected off a San Jose defender. Evander Kane would add an empty netter at the end to seal the 3-1 win, with Bogosian assisting for his second point of the evening.
It was a strong game from backup goalie Chad Johnson, who is expected to be a name discussed on the trade market. In fact, the Sharks were rumored to be looking at him, and they got a first-hand impression of how solid he’s been this season for the Sabres.
There’s no rest for the winners, however, as the Sabres will play the Los Angeles Kings tonight at 11 EST.
Three Questions
1. How long will the Sabres shutout streak against last?
The Sabres were held scoreless until 13:38 into the second period, when Larsson ended the shutout streak against in dramatic fashion.
2. Who will win – Sharks PP or Sabres PK?
Oddly enough, everyone was on their best behavior and there was not a single penalty called in this game. I guess that defaults to a win for the PK?
3. Can the Sabres keep their point streak versus the Sharks alive?
Deal with it dot gif.
Comment of the Game
Forget tanking/drafting/free agency/etc.
All we have to do to win the Cup is find a way to play all our games against San Jose