NHL

San Jose Sharks at Buffalo Sabres

· National Hockey League
Final
6 - 2

Sharks score 4 3rd-period goals to pull away for 6-2 win over Sabres

Sharks take down Sabres for 2nd straight win

Smith, William Eklund, Timothy Liljegren and Tyler Toffoli all had a goal and an assist each as the Sharks won back-to-back games after snapping an 0-5-3 skid with a shootout win at Toronto on Monday night.

Eklund made it a 3-1 game with 17:41 left in the third period with a wrist shot. Shakir Mukhamadullin and Toffoli each got an assist on the goal.

JJ Peterka and Tage Thompson scored for the Sabres.

Alexandar Georgiev made 20 saves for the Sharks. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen had 22 saves for the Sabres.

Takeaways Smith and Celebrini are the third duo of Sharks rookies to reach the 30-point threshold in the same season, the first since 2006-07.

Peterka extended his point streak to six games, in which he’s combined for three goals and four assists, but the Sabres lost their fourth game in a row. Thompson has 28 points (14 goals and 14 assist) in his last 25 games.

Key moment Celebrini’s goal at the 12:02 mark of the third period came 63 seconds after Thompson scored to cut the Sharks lead to 3-2. Celebrini used Buffalo defenseman Bowen Byram as a screen in snapping a shot from the top of the right circle inside the far left post.

Key stat Marc-Edouard Vlasic is now the career leader in blocked shots in the NHL. Vlasic set the record by getting in front of Zach Benson’s wrister 2:16 into the first period. He finished with two blocks to increase his career total to 2,166, breaking the record set by Mark Giordano. The NHL has tracked blocked shots since the 2005-2006 season.

Up next The Sharks visit Colorado and the Sabres play at Tampa Bay, both on Thursday night.

Regular Season Series

Series tied 1-1

Scoring Summary

Goal 2nd Period 1:01 Timothy Liljegren Goal (6) Wrist Shot, assists: William Eklund (33), Jake Walman (25)
Goal 2nd Period 5:13 JJ Peterka Goal (18) Slap Shot, assists: Rasmus Dahlin (39), Jack Quinn (14)
Goal 2nd Period 18:22 Nico Sturm Goal (7) Wrist Shot, assists: Collin Graf (4), Klim Kostin (6)
Goal 3rd Period 2:19 William Eklund Goal (13) Wrist Shot, assists: Tyler Toffoli (18), Shakir Mukhamadullin (4)
Goal 3rd Period 6:55 Tage Thompson Goal (30) Slap Shot, assists: JJ Peterka (31), Connor Clifton (9)
Goal 3rd Period 7:58 Macklin Celebrini Goal (19) Wrist Shot, assists: Shakir Mukhamadullin (5), Will Smith (19)
Goal 3rd Period 12:49 Will Smith Goal (11) Wrist Shot, assists: Fabian Zetterlund (19)
Goal 3rd Period 18:01 Tyler Toffoli Goal (24) Wrist Shot, assists: Jake Walman (26), Timothy Liljegren (6)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/sj.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originSJ https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/buf.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originBUF
21 Blocked Shots 14
24 Hits 29
9 Takeaways 3
28 Shots 22
0 Power Play Goals 1
2 Power Play Opportunities 2
0.0 Power Play Percentage 50.0
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
31 Faceoffs Won 33
48.4 Faceoff Win Percent 51.6
16 Giveaways 14
3 Total Penalties 3
6 Penalty Minutes 6
Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Sabres Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Jordan Greenway, LW Day-To-Day Apr 2
Tyson Kozak, C Day-To-Day Apr 1
Josh Norris, C Out Apr 1
San Jose Sharks San Jose Sharks Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Yaroslav Askarov, G Out Apr 2
Henry Thrun, D Day-To-Day Apr 2
Jimmy Schuldt, D Day-To-Day Apr 2
Vincent Desharnais, D Day-To-Day Apr 2
Shakir Mukhamadullin, D Day-To-Day Apr 2

Game Information

KeyBank Center

Location: Buffalo, NY
Attendance: 14,741 | Capacity:

2024-25 Pacific Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Vegas 45 21 98 8
Los Angeles 42 23 93 9
Edmonton 43 26 91 5
Calgary 35 27 82 12
Vancouver 34 27 81 13
Anaheim 33 33 74 8
Seattle 31 38 68 6
San Jose 20 44 50 10

2024-25 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Toronto 46 25 96 4
Tampa Bay 44 25 93 5
Florida 44 27 92 4
Ottawa 39 29 84 6
Montreal 35 30 79 9
Detroit 34 33 75 7
Buffalo 32 36 70 6
Boston 30 36 69 9
Full Standings