|
|
Second straight comeback falls
short
Sabres extend home dominance over
Sharks
Twenty-four hours after the miracle comeback in
Philadelphia, the Sharks had the misfortune of having to end their road trip
with back-to-back games in the one place that has served as a house of horrors
since the team’s inception 20 years ago. They would drop a 6-3 decision to
the Buffalo Sabres at HSBC Arena, but not before taking a crack at another
crazy comeback.
The score is deceiving, because the game was separated
by a single goal with 27 seconds to play. Buffalo would score an empty net goal
in the final minute, then would tack on a meaningless goal with 9 ticks left.
The Sharks were in the unfortunate situation of having to scrape back
from another three goal deficit after letting an opponent run roughshod over
them early. After taking things to the shootout the night before, tired legs
seemed to catch up to San Jose. They would come out firing, still buzzing from
the heroics in Philly, but Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller was in a stingy mood.
A little bad luck didn’t help either. Buffalo got on the board
midway through the opening period when Paul Gaustad lifted a puck from the left
side that hit defenseman Dan Boyle in the helmet. The puck took a 90-degree
left turn after glancing off Boyle’s melon, right into the Sharks goal.
Thomas Vanek made it 2-0 at 6:48 of the 2nd period on a slapper from
the high slot. Derek Roy setup the goal with a backhanded pass from the side of
the Sharks goal. Vanek stepped into the shot, ripping it past goaltender Antti
Niemi for his 12th tally of the season.
A high sticking penalty to
Luke Adam at 12:13 put the Sharks on the power play, giving them a chance to
cut into the Sabres lead, but that would backfire when Jason Pominville
converted a short-handed chance. Pominville was the beneficiary of a botched
pass attempt by Jason Demers near the Buffalo blueline. The Sabres winger
grabbed the loose puck and raced up ice before whipping a 17-foot shot past
Niemi.
Logan Couture continued to wield a hot hand, converting on the
power play after Buffalo took a bench minor for too many men on the ice. The
rookie snapped a shot from the top of the left circle that squeezed through
traffic before beating Miller. The goal was his 14th of the season.
Couture would setup another goal with 45 seconds left in the period. Carrying
the puck up the right side, Couture put on the brakes then slid a feed to the
slot as Marc-Edouard Vlassic pinched in from the point. Vlassic took two stabs
at the puck with Patrick Kaleta draped all over him. The second shot would get
the puck past Miller for Vlasic’s first goal of the season.
All
the momentum San Jose built on the Vlasic goal so close to the 2nd intermission
was wiped out with a Sabres goal 31 seconds into the 3rd period. Gaustad chased
a loose puck into the right corner, then sent a backhand pass to Cody McCormick
on the Sharks front door. Defenseman Doulas Murray was caught out of position
on the play, allowing McCormick to lurk unattended at the top of the crease.
Murray would atone for that gaff at 9:26 with his 1st
goal of the season, leveraging a screen by Sabres defenseman Mike Weber. Murray
uncorked his shot from the top of the left circle after Weber tried to block
the shot. The block attempt ended up blocking Miller and allowing the puck to
find twine to cut the Sabres lead to a lone goal.
Just like that, the
Sharks were back in it. They would spend the next ten minutes trying to scratch
out the tying goal, but they couldn’t muster any more magic.
San
Jose was forced to pull Niemi, which simplified Gaustad’s 2nd tally of the
game. Buffalo strung together a series of long passes to evade the Sharks
skaters before Gaustad ended things with the empty netter.
With the
game already decided, the Sabres rubbed the Sharks noses in it by pushing the
play after the Gaustad goal. That would result in another Vanek goal 18 seconds
later. The tally did nothing more than provide a little motivation for the
Sharks who will get another crack at Buffalo on January 6th, when the Sabres
visit HP Pavilion. San Jose will have three days to rest up for that game.
 |
|
| What did you think of
this article? Post your comments on the Feeder Forums |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
 |
What did you
think of this story? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
| BUF |
1 |
2 |
3 |
6 |
|
|
| 1st period - 1, BUF,
Gaustad 2 (McCormick), 12:18. |
|
|
| 2nd period - 2, BUF,
Vanek 12 (Roy, Gerbe), 6:48. 3, BUF, Pominville 3 (unassisted), 13:26, (sh). 4,
SJ, Couture 14 (Boyle, Clowe), 15:50, (pp). 5, SJ, Vlasic 1 (Couture, Clowe),
19:15. |
|
|
| 3rd period - 6, BUF,
McCormick 4 (Gaustad), 0:31. 7, SJ, Murray 1 (Mitchell), 9:26. 8, BUF, Gaustad
3 (McCormick, Sekera), 19:33, (en). 9, BUF, Vanek 13 (Roy, Gerbe), 19:51. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1st period - Weber, BUF
(delay of game – puck over glass), 8:32. |
|
|
| 2nd period - Thornton,
SJ (holding), 2:25; Adam, BUF (high sticking), 12:13; Bench, BUF (too many
men), 15:14. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Niemi |
36 |
31 |
| SJ - empty net |
1 |
0 |
| BUF - Miller |
29 |
26 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
12 |
8 |
9 |
29 |
| BUF |
9 |
18 |
10 |
37 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Referees: Walkom,
StPierre. Linesmen: Kovachik, Nowak. |
|
|
|
|
|
