SAN JOSE — Jeff Skinner scored the game-winning purpose within the third interval, and the Buffalo Sabres beat the San Jose Sharks 4-2 on Saturday night time.
Sabres ahead Dylan Cozens prolonged his purpose streak to 3. Alex Tuch and Owen Energy additionally scored for Buffalo. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 33 saves for his 14th win of the season.
Evgeny Svechnikov and Alexander Barabanov scored for San Jose, whereas Kaapo Kahkonen made 27 saves in what was his twelfth lack of the 12 months because the Sharks fell to 5-14-7 on residence ice this season.
Skinner acquired a go from Tage Thompson halfway by way of the third interval for his twenty first purpose of the 12 months because the Sabres took a 3-2 lead.
“I didn’t love our third,” Sharks coach David Quinn stated. “They turned it up a notch. I assumed we took a step again. Only a miscommunication on the (Skinner) purpose and it seemed like we obtained simply demoralized after they went up 3-2, and we didn’t do a lot after that.”
Skinner now has 12 objectives in 20 profession video games towards the Sharks, together with his final seven. He additionally prolonged his level streak towards San Jose to eight video games, with eight objectives and three assists in that span.
Skinner additionally has recorded at the least one level in every of his final six video games at SAP Heart.
At 3:01 of the primary interval, Cozens went coast to coast and beat Kahkonen by way of the legs for his twentieth purpose of the season.
Svechnikov deflected a shot late within the first for his sixth of the season and to tie the sport at one.
Similar to Cozens’s purpose, Energy was in a position to beat the Sharks netminder with a shot that went five-hole for his fourth purpose of the season.
The Sharks dominated play all through the second, outshooting the Sabres 9-2 midway by way of the interval. At 8:02 of the second, Erik Karlsson took a shot that rebounded off the backboards proper to Barabanov to slip residence.
The Sharks have now scored simply 4 objectives of their final three video games, all losses. Each Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl have only one purpose of their final 5 video games.
Saturday’s sport was the primary of seven straight for the Sharks at residence, though Monday’s sport towards the Seattle Kraken is the one one towards a workforce that’s presently in a playoff place.
Early within the third, Sabres ahead Peyton Krebs was awarded a penalty shot however was stopped by Kahkonen.
Tuch scored his twenty sixth purpose into an empty internet to ice the sport within the third.
UP NEXT
Sabres: Host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night time.
Sharks: Host the Seattle Kraken on Monday.