San Jose Sharks Finally Record Another Win In Buffalo

By Bradley Phillipps |

Well I never thought this would happen in my lifetime. The San Jose Sharks beat the Buffalo Sabres in Buffalo. While this might not have been the prettiest game, the Sharks exit Buffalo with a 2-0 start on this road trip. With the absence of Logan Couture and their discouraging homestand, that is all Sharks fans can ask for. If you weren’t able to watch the game, here is what you missed.

The younger players for the Sabres shined bright tonight as Jack Eichel was their most dangerous player. His best was on display right as time expired creating a dangerous scoring chance that almost stopped many hearts across the Bay Area. Eichel along with Rasmus Ristolainen and Ryan O’Reilly are going to make the Sabres very good in the near future.

For Sharks fans most eyes were on Eichel, but a lot of fans forget that Sam Reinhart was also a second overall draft pick. He created a lot of chances himself and almost stripped Nikolay Goldobin at the blueline for a breakaway. That moment must have given Goldobin nightmares of last year’s World Junior Championships.

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Speaking of Goldobin, Peter DeBoer benched him for the entire third period. With his perceived defensive deficiencies, DeBoer must have considered score effects in his decision. Or maybe this is a message that Goldobin could use more time in the minors, but I like to convince myself that the former is what happened.

As expected, the Sabres dominated in the third period like any losing team would. I tried so hard not to think about the word “shutout” but with the way the game was going, the Sabres were going to score eventually. Most goalies aren’t going to stop that shot by O’Reilly.

As for the decision to start Jones over Alex Stalock. I wasn’t a fan as goalies don’t perform well when they play both halves of a back-to-back. But Jones played well enough to justify the decision. I doubt the Sharks win tonight with Stalock in net (reference to last year and Troy Grosenick).

Then, the Sharks saved their best for last as Patrick Marleau deposited a shot past Chad Johnson to get that much closer to point 1,000. Marleau also lifts the Sharks above the .500 mark once again. Their next game is against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.

A couple of other notes. You can always count on us here at Blades of Teal to forecast the game. “Don’t be surprised if this game turns into a high scoring affair” he said. This game might be fun to watch he said.

Also, another random thought. While Joonas Donskoi didn’t make much of an impact tonight, his play is starting to remind me of Charlie Coyle. If he can turn into anything close to Coyle, this signing will be a huge win for the Sharks.

Lets hope the Sharks can continue their winning ways over the course of the next four games on this trip. If they play like they did tonight, they’ll stand a much better chance than they did in Detroit.

Edit: Looks like the Sharks are about to sign Dainius Zubrus to a Professional Try Out. With the Sharks missing three forwards, Zubrus will fit under the cap and can provide extra forward depth if they indeed sign him. He is also familiar with DeBoer from New Jersey so this could be a beneficial signing. As long as the player doesn’t suck, any forward depth is good forward depth.

Next: Sharks Eek Out Victory Over Detroit Behind Martin Jones

Three Stars

1st Star: ~~Ryan O’Reilly~~ Patrick Marleau

2nd Star: Martin Jones

3rd Star: Marc-Edouard Vlasic

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