Final
Sabres one goal better than struggling Sharks
Oct 26, 2014 - 3:44 AM San Jose, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Michal Neuvirth made 29 saves to earn his first win of the season and Nicolas Deslauriers netted the deciding goal early in the third period, as Buffalo nipped San Jose by a 2-1 count on Saturday.Cody Hodgson also lit the lamp in the final stanza for the Sabres, who snapped a four-game slide and picked up their first win on a four-game road trip which ends in Toronto on Tuesday.
"It's a huge win for me and everybody on this team. We worked really hard for this," Neuvirth offered.
Brent Burns supplied the lone goal and Alex Stalock stopped just 13 pucks for the Sharks, who stumbled to their fourth straight loss and fifth in six games.
Hodgson put the Sabres on the board with 3:43 played in the third, taking a pass from Drew Stafford atop the crease and moving the puck from his forehand to the backhand before sliding it home.
Deslauriers then punched home a Cody McCormick rebound at the right post and Buffalo was up by two at 5:57.
The hosts broke through a mere 13 seconds later, as Burns' prayer from the left-wing boards sailed through traffic and inside the far post.
Neuvirth made two more stops on Matt Nieto from opposite ends of the rink roughly five minutes apart to keep it a one-goal margin. He later fell forward to squelch a blast by Burns from the right circle with 1:38 remaining.
Stalock was pulled for an extra skater on the subsequent faceoff, and the Sharks only produced two quality chances for the remainder of regulation.
"We shouldn't lose a game like that," Sharks forward Logan Couture said. "We've got a lot to figure out right now. I think everyone on our team needs to look in the mirror."
Neither goaltender flinched through two scoreless periods, with Neuvirth stopping 14 pucks and Stalock needing to turn away only nine chances.
Buffalo's goaltender made his finest stop, with the right pad, on a Nieto rush up the left wing with a minute to play in the second.
Game Notes
Neuvirth also earned his first win as a Sabre, having gone 0-4-0 in four appearances since being acquired from Washington last year ... Buffalo has won four in a row at San Jose, with its last loss a 5-2 result on Jan. 23, 2010 ... Sabres forward and second-overall 2014 pick Sam Reinhart was credited with his first NHL point on Deslauriers' tally ... The Sharks' sellout streak ended at 205 games (177 regular season) since Dec. 9, 2009.
- BUFFALO: 2
SAN JOSE: 1
Final
Oct 25 6:30 PM - Buffalo Goal - Cody Hodgson, from Drew Stafford and Zemgus Girgensons at 3:43.
Sabres 1, Sharks 0 3rd - 16:17Oct 25 5:55 PM - BUFFALO: 0
SAN JOSE: 0
End of 2nd
Oct 25 5:31 PM - BUFFALO: 0
SAN JOSE: 0
End of 1st
Oct 25 4:43 PM - BUFFALO: 0
SAN JOSE: 0
1st Period - 20:00
Oct 25 4:08 PM
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