Sabres score 5 straight, rally past Sharks

SAN JOSE -- The Buffalo Sabres scored five unanswered goals in a 5-2 win against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Saturday.

Dylan Cozens had a goal and two assists, JJ Peterka scored twice, and Alex Tuch had a goal and an assist for the Sabres (22-23-4), who have won two straight. Casey Mittelstadt had two assists, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 23 saves.

"I don't think we ever wavered in our confidence and our energy," Tuch said. "Our style of play, I don't think, really changed. We just tightened up a few areas, made a couple better plays with the puck and we were just a little stronger in puck battles."

William Eklund had two assists, and Kaapo Kahkonen made 31 saves for the Sharks (13-32-4), who ended their three-game winning streak.

"A good start by us, scored on some chances that we got. But I don't think we did enough around their net," San Jose captain Logan Couture said. "Didn't make it as hard on the goaltender as we would have liked to, and gave them a few chances in our defensive zone."

Peterka cut the lead to 2-1 at 14:14 of the first period, putting in a rebound in front off Cozens’ wraparound attempt.

Jordan Greenway put in a cross-crease pass from Tuch to tie it 2-2 at 18:01.

Tuch gave Buffalo a 3-2 lead at 1:36 of the second period with a wrist shot from the right circle past a screened Kahkonen.

Peterka's second goal, a one-timer from the right circle on a 3-on-2 rush, made it 4-2 at 4:33 of the third period.

Cozens scored an empty-net goal for the 5-2 final at 15:44.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic put San Jose ahead 1-0 at 8:06 of the first period when Eklund set him up for a slap shot through traffic from the left circle.

"He's been playing really well since he's gotten back into the lineup on a regular basis here," Couture said. "That's vintage Marc-Edouard Vlasic."

Jan Rutta made it 2-0 at 10:42 when his wrist shot from the point deflected in off the stick of Sabres defenseman Ryan Johnson.

"It looked like we thought it was going to be easy," Sharks coach David Quinn said. "I thought we came out with a lot of energy, a lot of pace. And then all of a sudden, we get up 2-0 and it was funny how it just changed. We got away from skating and competing and playing responsibly, and we weren't able to get it back."

Sabres forward Jack Quinn left the game at 7:07 of third period with an apparent lower-body injury. Sabres coach Don Granato did not have an update on Quinn after the game.

"It was devastating to see him go down the way he did," Granato said. "He's endured a lot already in a very young career. So it's a struggle. We don't [know] to what extent that he's going to be out, but it's certainly not day to day."

NOTES: The Sabres recorded multigoal comeback wins in consecutive games after defeating the Los Angeles Kings 5-2 on Wednesday for the first time since May 3-4, 2021. … Sharks defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin recorded one hit and three shots on goal in 19:21 of ice time in his NHL debut.