Sabres Defeat Sharks

The San Jose Sharks were beaten 3-1 by the Buffalo Sabres, an ugly loss just before the NHL’s two-week break that coach Todd McLellan precisely wanted to avoid. Fatigue from being on the road and the stomach flu that afflicted several members of the team were tagged as the culprits. Dan Boyle admits that the team could have used a bit more effort though. He says that it wasn’t that the Sabres played hard but that the Sharks didn’t play hard enough. Boyle himself was guilty of three visible turnovers in the first period. Sabres versus Sharks The Sabres was able to build a solid 3-0 lead on goals by Paul Gaustad, Thomas Vanek, and Jason Pominville during the second period. On these goals, the Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov had very little chance to stop the puck. Kent Huskins was able to score early in the third period. However, the Sharks couldn’t stop Sabres goalie Ryan Miller after that. Despite that, the Sharks are still in possession of the NHL’s best record away from home. With 21-8-2 record, they stil retain their place at the top of the NHL’s Western Conference. Defenseman Douglas Murray takes responsibility for the Sabres’ first goal at 5:25 during the second period. Henrik Tallinder of the Sabres looked as if he was about to bring the puck behind the net. Three Sharks followed him, leaving Gaustad alone on the other side of the crease. This slip enabled him to convert a last-second pass into an easy goal. Murray notes that while Dany Heatley have Tallinder covered, he should have pulled off and took the next layer coming to prevent Gaustad from scoring. The second goal by the Sabres came only ten seconds after a penalty to Vanek expired. Murray and defenseman Jay Leach tried to break up an odd-man rush. “I thought I made a good read. He bobbled the puck on a 3-on-2, and I went to poke check it,” said Murray. He was able to succeed but the puck still bounced off Leach, got behind two Sharks defensemen, enabling Vanek to grab it and execute a quick backhander at 12:31, giving Sabres a 2-0 lead. There was nothing goalie Nabokov could do on either of those two goals, Murray adds. The Sabres’ final goal arrived at 17:23, shortly tailing an unsuccessful power play by the Sharks when Tim Connolly banked a pass to Pominville. He was able to stuff the puck in on the shrot side before Nabokov could skate up against the post. Coach McLellan expressed disappointment that the end of their 4-2 road trip was marked with an easy defeat. Aside from that, some of the team can put this behind them as they get to play hockey in the Olympics.