Tag: San Jose Sharks

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks make first visit to Seattle to face off with Kraken on Thursday night

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, right, makes a save as Seattle Kraken center Yanni Gourde (37) and Blackhawks defenseman Jake McCabe, second from left, battle at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle on Mon Jan 17, 2022. The San Jose Sharks battle the Kraken on Thu Jan 20, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The San Jose Sharks (21-17-2) Timo Meier has had a great season with 25 goals and 24 assists but he had the game of his career on Monday afternoon against the Los Angeles Kings (20-14-5) at SAP Center in San Jose scoring five goals in one game he was just simply unstoppable.

#2 Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick who played for the whole game allowed six goals and faced 17 shots just didn’t either have the defense in front, had himself a poorly defensive game or Meier played like Bobby Orr and Alex Ovechkin rolled into one.

#3 On the defensive end the Sharks just allowed two goals for the Kings one scored in the first period and another in the third period and the Kings had won four straight games previous to Monday’s game with the Sharks.

#4 Sharks goaltender James Reimer was on top of things between the pipes Monday against the Kings with 39 saves against two goals allowed. Talk how big Reimer has been for the Sharks this season.

#5 The Sharks continue the fight as they drop he puck Thursday night against the Seattle Kraken (11-23-4) at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle it will be the Sharks first visit to Seattle since the Kraken opened up this season’s inaugural year. The Kraken recently snapped a ten game losing streak with a 3-2 shootout win over the Chicago Blackhawks (15-18-6) on Monday night in Seattle. Puck drops at 7:00 pm Thursday night between the Sharks and Kraken how do you see these two clubs facing off?

Join Mary Lisa for complete Sharks coverage on the Sharks podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Meier Scores 5, Sharks Beat Kings 6-2; It’s Timo Time all the time

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

San Jose Sharks right wing Timo Meier (28) raises the puck high, Meier scored five goals against the Los Angeles Kings on Martin Luther King Day at SAP Center in San Jose on Mon Jan 17, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– Timo Meier scored five goals in the San Jose Sharks (21-17-2) 6-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings (20-14-5) Monday afternoon. It was the first time in Sharks history that a Shark scored that many in one game. Rudolfs Balcers also scored, for the second game in a row. James Reimer made 39 saves for the win. Anze Kopitar and Mikey Anderson scored for the Kings and Jonathan Quick made 11 saves in the loss.

Apart from Meier’s stunning play Monday, the game also saw the Sharks’ struggling power play score twice, Tomas Hertl earn four assists and Erik Karlsson get three, including his 500th.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach talked about the game:

“I’m very happy and proud for Timo, I think he’s put a lot of hard work in. For our team, a team that hasn’t scored a lot and has played well of late and hasn’t gotten quite the results that I think we deserve, it was nice to see, as a team, one of our big guys go off like that.”

Timo Meier scored his first of the afternoon at 3:02 on the power play. From just inside the left face-off dot, Meier caught a cross-ice pass from Brent Burns and whipped into the net on the short side. Assists went to Burns and Erik Karlsson.

Rudolfs Balcers made it 2-0 at 15:56 of the first. Balcers sent the puck out of his zone to Hertl in the neutral zone. Hertl carried the puck along the blue line before shooting it right down the slot. Balcers caught it with the back of his stick and then shot it past Quick on the glove side.

Meier scored his second at 18:48, unassisted. While he skated across in front of the blue paint, the puck went off of his skate. He spun and gathered it up for a quick roofer.

He completed the hat trick 21 seconds later. Hertl dug the puck out of the corner and got it to Meier in a nice shooting spot. Meier’s shot did not go in but he moved to the other side of the net and cleaned up a rebound. Hertl got the assist.

The busy final minute was not over, as Anze Kopitar scored for Los Angeles with just 16 seconds left in the period. Kopitar took advantage of a turnover at the blue line and then charged into the zone for a shot from outside the face-off dot.

Meier started working a second hatty to start the second period, with another power play goal at 1:24. He caught a cross-ice pass from Erik Karlsson just outside the face-off dot and scored with a quick wrist shot. Assists went to Karlsson and Hertl.

Meier scored his fifth goal at 19:32 of the second. He caught a cross-ice pass from Hertl, brought the puck around a defender with a toe drag. He shot it past Quick’s glove, off the post and in. Assists went to Hertl and Karlsson.

Mikey Anderson scored the only third period goal to make it 6-2. Drew Doughty centered the puck from low in the zone and Anderson tipped it in. Assists went to Doughty and Viktor Arvidsson.

The Kings out-shot the Sharks 41-17 in the game. The Sharks had three power plays, scored on two of them with two shots. The Sharks’ penalty kill allowed four shots through three penalties. In the face-off circle, the Kings prevailed with 53% of the draws.

The Sharks next play in Seattle against the Kraken on Thursday at 7:00 PM PT.

Sharks Fall to Penguins 2-1 in OT; SJ drops second straight game

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson (28) and goaltender Louis Domingue, right, are in the process of prevent defense against the San Jose Sharks left winger Matt Nieto (83) in the third period at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Jan 15, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks lost their first overtime game of the season, falling 2-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Kris Letang and Jake Guentzel scored for Pittsburgh and Louis Domingue made 40 saves for the win. Rudolfs Balcers scored for San Jose and Adin Hill made 25 saves in the loss.

For the first time in a long time, the Sharks had Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson on the same power play unit. The Sharks had three power plays Saturday, one of those a double-minor, but still could not convert against the Penguins’ top-ranked penalty kill. Most of the Sharks’ power play shots came from the first unit, but short-handed chances were given up by both units.

Sharks’ Head Coach Bob Boughner did not put too much stock in the power play’s failure to score:

“I thought our power play had some great looks. At the end of the second and the beginning of the third, we had some great looks and we had traffic and we picked the rebounds off. I think our second unit was just very average, I thought we didn’t get anything going on the second unit but, you know, we did a lot of good things, the only thing we didn’t do was score but that’s not on our power play. I think Pittsburgh’s a good team.”

Rudolfs Balcers scored the first goal of the game at 7:01. Erik Karlsson chased down the puck as it came off the boards, then spun and sent it to the net. It went right to Balcers as he arrived in front of the net and angled his stick to deflect it in. Assists went to Karlsson and Timo Meier.

The Sharks held the Penguins to one shot for the first half of the period but at 10:56, Kris Letang tied it up. Letang skated around the outside to get behind the Sharks defense, then cut across the slot to score with a backhand over Hill’s right pad. Assists went to Jake Guentzel and Teddy Blueger.

The shot count for the period was 11-4 Sharks, and San Jose also led in the face-off circle with 53% of the draws. The Sharks took the only penalty of the period, and the penalty kill allowed no shots on goal.

The Penguins got more shots through in the second, with four on net in the first half of the period. The Sharks also had more, 8, at that point. By the end of the second, it was 17-8 Sharks.

With a little more than a minute left in the period, Jake Guentzel went to the box for four minutes after drawing blood from Jonathan Dahlen with a high stick. The Sharks power play ended the period with three shots on goal and a little under three minutes remaining to start the third period.

The Sharks had that power play and another in the third period. They had six shots with the man advantage and gave up four short-handed shots. Overall, the Penguins out-shot them by just one, 14-13.

Jake Guentzel scored the game winner 37 seconds into overtime. Sidney Crosby carried the puck into the zone and across the slot. Guentzel had just arrived at the blue paint when Crosby sent the puck back to him for an easy tap-in. Assists went to Crosby and Kris Letang.

The Sharks had an excellent night in the face-off circle, winning 67% of the draws. Noah Gregor led the team in shots with seven.

The Sharks next play on Monday at home against the Los Angeles Kings at 1:00 PM PT.

Radim Simek is still out with a lower body injury, and Alexander Barabanov is on the COVID-19 list. Jacob Middleton was put on the injured reserve list after being injured in Detroit on January 4. James Reimer is off of the injured reserve list and he backed up Hill on Saturday.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Tale of two different games (vs. Red Wings and Rangers)

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

It was a fight all night for the San Jose Sharks as New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba, top, fights with the Sharks left wing Jeffrey Viel at SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Jan 13, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Len:

#1 Len, how would you describe the San Jose Sharks contrasting overtime 3-2 win against the Detroit Red Wings and their 3-0 shutout loss on Thursday night against the New York Rangers?

#2 The Sharks struggled hard to figure out the goal tending antics of Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin who stopped all 37 shots against the Sharks for the shutout.

#3 How remarkable is it for defenseman Brent Burns to have an assist on all three goals in two straight games a first for a NHL defenseman doing it before Thursday against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Red Wings.

#4 Burns is getting a lot of minutes of late and on Thursday he got 25:57 minutes against the Rangers and Sharks head coach Bob Boughner says Burns will never short you in the work department.

#5 The Sharks will keep busy they host the Penguins on Saturday night a 7:30 puck drop and a matinee on Monday for Martin Luther King’s Birthday a 1:00pm start against the Los Angeles Kings at SAP Center.

Join Len Shapiro for the Sharks podcasts each Saturday nights at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Shut Out By Rangers and Shesterkin 3-0; Three game win streak comes to an end

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin, left, who threw a shutout against the San Jose Sharks and center Jasper Weatherby (26) stops a shot on net at SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Jan 13, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks fell 3-0 to the New York Rangers in San Jose Thursday. Chris Kreider scored twice, Braden Schneider scored once for New York and Igor Shesterkin made 37 saves for the shut-out. Adin Hill made 28 saves for the Sharks.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“Tonight I thought we played a good game. I don’t think that we shot ourselves in the foot or, you know, we got dominated in any single area. I thought that Shesterkin made some great saves early. We couldn’t find the goal we needed. We fought hard and the difference I think was giving up a shorty.”

Timo Meier, recently selected for the 2022 All Star Game, talked about the loss: “We were right there the whole time. We had good legs, I think the energy was good too. From our side. We just couldn’t score, that extra centimeter in front of the net that we couldn’t get tonight.”

Chris Kreider gave the Rangers the lead with a short-handed goal midway through the first period. Mika Zibanejad and Kreider broke away during the Sharks power play and with one pass avoided the Sharks defense and scored. Assists went to Zibanejad and Adam Fox.

The Sharks out-shot the Rangers 10-6 in that period, but their power play gave up two shots and the goal, while only getting one power play shot. The teams were even in the face-off circle at 50% each. In the second period, the Rangers raised their face-off wins to 63% and out-shot the Sharks 13-10.

The Sharks took one penalty early in the period and their penalty kill gave up one shot. The second period was marked by a number of penalties. Timo Meier and Jacob Trouba scuffled and received matching minors. Jeffrey Viel then fought Trouba shortly after Trouba exited the box.

Braden Schneider scored his first NHL goal at 1:27 of the third, making it 2-0 Rangers. A turnover at the blue line left the Sharks in disarray while the Rangers went on the attack. Schneider arrived late and got a shot away before anyone picked him up. Assists went to Ryan Strome and Filip Chytil.

The Sharks had a late power play, out-shot the Rangers 17-12, and pulled their goaltender in the final minute to no avail. Chris Kreider scored his 200th goal into an empty net. Kevin Rooney got the assist.

The Sharks did improve in the face-off circle during the third period, winning 65% of the draws.

The Sharks next play on Saturday, in San Jose against the Pittsburgh Penguins at 7:30 PM PT. Nick Bonino has come off of the COVID-19 list and played Thursday. Alexander Barabanov has been put on the list so he will miss some time.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Kane’s trip to Vancouver violating Covid protocols led to his release; Sharks edge Red Wings 3-2 Couture shoots for game winner;

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Jose Sharks center Logan Couture (39) is jubilant after scoring the game winning goal in overtime with Brent Burns (88) and Jonathan Dahlen (76) against the Detroit Red Wings on Tue Jan 11, 2022 at SAP Center in San Jose (AP News photo)

On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Former Shark Evander Kane released for going to Vancouver during the holidays after testing positive while being on Covid 19 protocols pretty much was his last chance if any while playing on the Sharks AHL affiliate the San Jose Barracuda.

#2 The San Jose Sharks (20-16-5) got a win over the Detroit Red Wings (16-16-5) in an overtime win 3-2 on Tuesday night the Sharks got clobbered by the Red Wings 6-2 in their last meeting back on Jan 4th.

#3 Logan Couture is the game hero scoring the game winning goal in overtime, Couture was coming off the five day Covid protocol list a remarkable game for Couture considering he was away for five days.

#4 A fan threw a octopus on the ice near Couture and he asked the official to remove it and when the puck was dropping starting play Brent Burns sent the puck up towards the Red Wings net and Wings goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic stopped it right but juggled the puck which fell on the goal crease and Couture came around and knocked it into the net.

#5 Mary, the Sharks are becoming a good overtime team they have a perfect record 6-0 and just somehow have confidence in overtime and last night being no exception picked up another crucial win.

#6 The New York Rangers (23-10-4) are in San Jose on Thursday night who were defeated by the Los Angeles Kings (18-13-5) 3-1. The Rangers are not be underestimated with that 23-10 record one of the toughest teams in the NHL. Tell us how you see this match up for Thursday night at SAP?

Join Mary Lisa for the Sharks podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Beat Red Wings 3-2 in OT; Fifth win out of last eight for SJ

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

San Jose Sharks center Logan Couture (39) gets the puck past Detroit Red Wings goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic (39) as Nick Leddy (2) defends for the game winning goal in overtime at the SAP Center in San Jose on Tue Jan 11, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in overtime in San Jose on Tuesday. Timo Meier, Jeffrey Viel and Logan Couture scored for San Jose. Adin Hill made 17 saves for the win. Tyler Bertuzzi and Nick Leddy scored for Detroit and Alex Nedeljkovic made 37 saves in the loss.

The Sharks played Red Wings just a week ago in Detroit, and lost 6-2. That was the game when Jacob Middleton was injured in a hit from Givani Smith. The Sharks responded by giving up two short-handed goals in the ensuing five minute major. Early in the first period on Tuesday, Jeffrey Viel and Givani Smith fought and went to the box.

The Sharks took a 1-0 lead at 14:24 with a power play goal from Timo Meier. Jonathan Dahlen carried the puck almost to the goal line before making a backhand pass, through traffic, across the slot to Timo Meier right in front of the goal. Nedeljkovic could not get across in time to stop Meier’s 15th goal of the season. Assists went to Dahlen and Brent Burns.

The Sharks had two power plays in the first period, and had three shots and the goal. Their penalty kill gave up no shots in their one kill.

The Red Wings tied it at 19:38 of the second period, with a two man advantage. Filip Hronek sent the puck to the net from the blue line and Tyler Bertuzzi deflected it in. Assists went to Hronek and Mortiz Seider.

In the second period, the Sharks had one power play and got two shots. Their three-man penalty kill gave up the one shot that went in the net.

The Red Wings took the lead at 1:48 of the third with a goal from Nick Leddy, who carried the puck from one end of the ice to the other and then took a shot around Ryan Merkley. The puck went over Hill’s shoulder for Leddy’s first NHL goal. Assists went to Hronek and Bertuzzi.

Jeffrey Viel tied it back up at 3:18. Viel was chasing the puck to the net when he lost his footing with some help from a defender. He ended up sliding into the net himself and making some contact with the goaltender. An assist went to Brent Burns.

The Sharks pressed hard in the final minutes of the period, but Nedeljkovic held his ground and the game went to overtime.

Logan Couture scored with the Sharks’ only overtime shot. Brent Burns took a shot from the left side of the net and the puck went under the goaltender, coming to rest just above the goal line. Logan Couture was falling down on the other side of the net after fighting for space. He was able to reach across with his stick and nudge the puck over the line. Assists went to Burns and Dahlen.

After a lengthy review in Toronto, the goal was allowed. The review was for off-side and may have also been about the octopus that was thrown onto the ice during play.

The Sharks out-shot the Red Wings 40-19, and did so in each period, 12-6 in the first, 14-6 in the second and 13-6 in the third. The Sharks also led in the face-off circle, winning 52% of the draws.

The Sharks next play on Thursday, in San Jose against the New York Rangers at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Beat Flyers 3-2 in OT With Hertl Hat Trick

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

The San Jose Sharks Tomas Hertl is jubilant after nailing the game winning goal in overtime against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia on Sat Jan 8, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in overtime, again, on Saturday. It was the same score as on December 30 in San Jose. Tomas Hertl scored all three Sharks goals and Adin Hill made 29 saves for the win. Brent Burns had 3 assists and led the team with 29:35 TOI. James van Riemsdyk scored both Flyers goals and Martin Jones made 44 saves in the loss.

Logan Couture and Lane Pedersen are still out on the COVID list. Erik Karlsson, James Reimer, Rudolfs Balcers and Jacob Middleton are all out with injuries.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner talked about how Tomas Hertl helped balance out those absences:

“What I loved about it, even when we got down 2-0, even in the last two games, he’s taken on a huge void, leadership role, And he’s saying ‘it’s alright, we’re still in this, we’ve got this, let’s keep going, let’s keep working. We’re playing well.’ So Tommy was just more than being the player of the game, you know, he was pretty inspirational in the locker room and on the bench tonight.”

The games was scoreless for 40 minutes. The shots were close, 15-13 Flyers in the first, 13-10 Sharks in the second. Each team had one power play. The Sharks power play had two shots and their penalty kill gave up one. With the teams so close in so many aspects, it was no wonder they were tied at 0 going into the final frame.

The Sharks had some good chances in the first minute of the third, but, just as that minute expired, James van Riemsdyk got around Marc-Edouard Vlasic and broke away for a shot from the face-off circle. The puck went by Adin Hill and into the top corner. Assists went to Oskar Lindblom and Kevin Hayes.

The Flyers scored again at 6:47, this time on the power play. Cam York sent the puck to the net and it went off of van Riemsdyk, then bounced over Hill. Assists went to York and Cam Atkinson.

Tomas Hertl got one back for the Sharks at 7:47. Timo Meier made a quick back-hand pass from just above the goal line. Hertl was at the net ready to put it away. Assists went to Meier and Brent Burns.

Hertl put the puck in the net again at 14:29. In the midst of net-front traffic, he kicked the puck to his stick for a backhand past Jones on the far side. Assists again went to Meier and Burns.

The Sharks out-shot the Flyers 20-5 in the third period. Each team had a power play. the Sharks had two shots on theirs and the Flyers got one that went in.

Hertl completed his hat trick with the Sharks’ first shot in overtime, 24 seconds in. Brent Burns won the puck in the corner at the Sharks’ end and got the puck to Hertl. Hertl carried it the other way, and by the time he reached the Flyers blue line, Timo Meier was there for a two-on-one.

The face-off battle went back and forth from period to period. The Sharks won 61% in the third, but the Flyers won 52% in the first and 75% in the second, and the only face-off in overtime.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday in San Jose against the Detroit Red Wings at 7:30 PM PT.

In other news, the Sharks announced that they have put Evander Kane on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract. The statement specified that this was “for breach of his NHL Standard Player Contract and for violation of the AHL COVID-19 protocols.”

If that termination goes through, the Sharks will be free from all salary obligations to Kane and his salary will come off of their salary cap.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Kane out as a Shark will he get picked up by another team?

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Jose Sharks center Scott Reedy (54) and Buffalo Sabres center Mark Jankowski (17) make an attempt to get possession of the hockey puck in the first period of action at the Key Bank Center in Buffalo on Thu Jan 7, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Len:

#1 Len, after playing three out of four games and giving up six or more goals and ending a two game losing streak on Thursday night in Buffalo do the San Jose Sharks (18-16-1) have it right after beating the Buffalo Sabers (10-18-6) in a narrow 3-2 contest.

#2 Len, it was a close game on Thursday night as the Sharks goaltender Adin Hill stopped 37 shots allowed two goals but stood on his head long enough to help the Sharks get the one goal win.

#3 Len, in those three games that the Sharks gave up more than six goals they seemed to have settled down on Thursday in Buffalo getting Hill some protection up front and Hill was able to stop a lot of shots that could have got this game going the other way.

#4 In the game Thursday the Sharks got scoring help from Matt Nieto and Timo Meier and strong defense after they gave up 14 goals in two straight games and 28 goals in five games.

#5 Len it’s the Philadelphia Flyers (13-15-6) next up for the Sharks, the Flyers got crushed in their last game by the Pittsburgh Penguins (20-8-5) 6-2 on Thursday night and the Flyers are on a four game losing streak on of those loses came against the Sharks in San Jose on Thu Dec 30 in close game 3-2. How do you see these two clubs matching later on tonight?

Join Len for the Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Win in Buffalo, Beat Sabres 3-2

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

San Jose Sharks goaltender Adin Hill stops one of the 37 shots he saved against the Buffalo Sabers this one in the first period in Buffalo on Thu Jan 6, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 Thursday. It was just the Sharks’ fourth win in Buffalo in franchise history. Matt Nieto, Timo Meier, and Tomas Hertl scored for the Sharks. Adin Hill made 36 saves for the win. Jeff Skinner and Zemgus Girgensons scored for the Sabres. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 18 saves in the loss.

The Sharks were again without Logan Couture and Jonathan Dahlen but defenseman Mario Ferraro returned to the lineup from the COVID-19 list. Goaltender James Reimer was also unavailable due to a lower body injury of unspecified severity. This puts some pressure on Adin Hill to return to form as the starter.

Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner mentioned that Adin Hill had his swagger back in Thursday’s game, and the team fed off of that confidence. He summed up the team’s performance as: “We weren’t perfect but we were a lot better and it’s a good sign.”

Sharks forward Matt Nieto talked about scoring a goal with his line-mates Andrew Cogliano and Nick Bonino: “We haven’t really created offense the way we would like to. We think we’ve gotten a lot of chances so it’s nice to get one tonight. Hopefully more start coming.”

Nieto started a brief first-period flurry of scoring for the Sharks at 12:27. Andrew Cogliano sent the puck up from the goal line to Nieto inside the face-off dot. Nieto took the shot from an awkward angle but got it by Luukkonen on the blocker side. Assists went to Cogliano and Nick Bonino.

Timo Meier made it 2-0 at 13:44. Tomas Hertl got the puck across the line and then dropped it to Meier. Meier took a quick shot from the point and rang it off the post and in. Assists went to Hertl and Mario Ferraro.

Tomas Hertl made it 3-0 at 17:24. Alexander Barabanov cleared the puck out of the Sharks zone and then chased it down to carry it into the Sabres zone. He dropped it to a trailing Hertl who took the shot from the slot for his 17th of the season.

Jeff Skinner scored for Buffalo at 7:56 of the second. Skinner pulled the puck out of a board battle and carried it to the slot before taking the shot. The puck went over Hill’s stick, off the post and in. Victor Olofsson got the assist.

Zemgus Girgensons made it 3-2 with a power play goal at 18:14 of the third. Tage Thompson took a shot from the point that went off of the bar and came back out to bounce down Hill’s shoulder before landing behind him. Before Hill could find it, Girgensons swept it in. Assists went to Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin.

The Sabres pulled their goaltender with 92 seconds left and made a good push but the Sharks held on.

The Sabres out-shot the Sharks in every period for a shot total of 39-21, and in the third period they out-shot the Sharks 22-5. The Sabres also beat the Sharks in the face-off circle, winning 60% of the draws. The Sharks only had one power play but had no shots on that one. The Sabres had three power plays in which they had seven shots and a goal.

The Sharks’ next game is on Saturday in Philadelphia against the Flyers at 4:00 PM PT.