San Jose Sharks get shutout in loss in the Keybank Center to the Buffalo Sabres
The toothless San Jose Sharks offense was unable to figure out a way past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in the Sabres net, and the team from the Bay Area are shutout once again as the Sharks are defeated 3-0 in Buffalo, New York. It's the 14th loss in the last 15 games, and things just seem to go from bad to worse for the Sharks right now.
Buffalo would get the first goal of the game in the seond period. As they crossed the blueline, Casey Mittelstadt dragged the puck towards the slot to create a better shooting angle. His shot on Kaapo Kahkonen managed to sneak through between the blocker and chest protector of the Finnish netminder after he saw the puck late due to the screen from Kyle Okposo, and the Sabres struck first.
It would get doubled before too long in the second. Jack Quinn would feed a pass into the high slot for the Sabres to take the chance on. Alex Tuch would skate onto it and blast it home from the high slot, and it would make it a 2-0 lead. Kahkonen had an equipment issue with his pad straps around his skates too, so whether that played any part in his ability to not get into the proper position to stop the shot or not, we may never know, but it wasn't good enough in the end to keep the lead at one.
Buffalo would cap it off with the empty net goal as Jordan Greenway put the dagger into the Sharks, and this was game over. San Jose had been trying to find a way through Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen all night long, but it just didn't seem to happen for the guys in teal. It helps the tank effort, but fans will get to start their day on a sour note with a loss this early. It isn't a fun time in Sharks fandom right now.