Postgame Report | Cozens joins 20-goal club as Sabres defeat Sharks

SAN JOSE -Tage Thompson reflected on the Sabres' eight-day, three-game tour of California inside the visiting dressing room at SAP Center late Saturday night.
The Sabres had dropped their first game after the bye week at home to Calgary and were still admittedly not themselves when they lost in Los Angeles on Monday. They found their groove again in Anaheim, then carried that confidence into a 4-2 win over the San Jose Sharks.
"That was a big road trip," Thompson said. "It took us a little bit to get going after the break and I feel like we're kind of back in full stride now. … Now we've just got to keep it rolling."

The Sabres took four of six possible points on the road trip, inching within three points of the New York Islanders for the second Wild Card berth in the Eastern Conference with five games in hand. (The Islanders lost Saturday, as did the Penguins, Capitals, Panthers, and Red Wings.)
The win did not come without adversity. The Sabres were outshot 27-13 through the first 40 minutes but left for the dressing room tied 2-2 thanks to goals from Dylan Cozens and Owen Power and timely goaltending from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
They came out for the third period with a commitment to shooting the puck. Thompson eventually won the battle down low that led to Jeff Skinner's game-winning goal with 10:08 remaining. Alex Tuch added an empty-net goal late.
"I liked the way we committed to our game plan for the last period," Thompson said. "It wasn't pretty the first two, but we got ourselves to a spot where if we won 20, we won the game. I think the response after the second period was good."
Here's the breakdown from a second straight win out west.

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How it happened

PERIOD 1
Cozens opened the scoring on an end-to-end rush just 3:01 into the contest. The Sharks responded with their own up-tempo attack, outshooting the Sabres 14-5 in the period and tying the score when Evgeny Svechnikov tipped a point shot from Jacob MacDonald at 16:49.

Luukkonen limited the damage with 13 saves, including two high-danger chances for MacDonald - one on a breakaway and another on the power play that Luukkonen swatted away with his blocker during the final minute.
"Upie stood on his head," Thompson said. "He doesn't make some of those saves in the first and second, it's a different game and maybe we're chasing it a lot. He keeps it a tied game for us going into the third and gives us a chance to win."
PERIOD 2
The two teams traded goals once again, emerging from the period tied 2-2. Power cut to the net and buried a feed from Jeff Skinner to briefly put the Sabres in front. Alexander Barabanov buried a carom off the end boards to tie the game at 11:57.

The Sharks outshot the Sabres 13-8 in the period, but both teams had chances to tack more on the board. Tyson Jost hit the crossbar on a feed from Rasmus Dahlin. Luukkonen turned away Mikey Eyssimont on a breakaway at the horn.
"We made a lot of work for ourselves because we were unwilling to shoot the puck," Sabres coach Don Granato said. "We wanted to make pretty plays, a perfect play instead of just simple and hard. Upie had to keep us in there for two periods, but I give our guys lots of credit. They finally did what they needed to in the third."
PERIOD 3
The Sabres pushed early for the go-ahead goal. Peyton Krebs was stopped by Kahkonen on a penalty shot, then Thompson hit the post with a hard wrist shot from the slot.
It was Skinner who finally broke through, the beneficiary of a strong play by Thompson below the goal line. Thompson won a battle and swatted the puck through the crease to Skinner, who had an open net.

Tuch added an empty-net goal with 1:01 remaining. Buffalo has a franchise-record 14 empty netters this season.

What we learned

1. Each of the five teams ahead of the Sabres in the Wild Card race lost on Saturday: Pittsburgh (5-2 vs. New Jersey), the Islanders (6-2 at Boston), Washington (4-1 at Carolina), Florida (7-3 at Nashville), and Detroit (4-2 at Seattle).
The standings are as follows:
| Team | GP | Points | Points % | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | WC1 - Pittsburgh Penguins | 55 | 63 | .573 | | WC2 - New York Islanders | 59 | 63 | .534 | | Washington Capitals | 58 | 62 | .534 | | Florida Panthers | 59 | 62 | .525 | | Buffalo Sabres | 54 | 60 | .556 | | Detroit Red Wings | 55 | 60 | .545 |
2.Cozens' goal was his 20th of the season. He joins Tage Thompson, Tuch, Victor Olofsson, and Skinner as the fifth Sabre to hit the 20-goal mark.
The Sabres last had five 20-goal scorers in a single season in 2007-08: Thomas Vanek, Derek Roy, Jason Pominville, Ales Kotalik, and Jochen Hecht.
Buffalo is currently the only NHL team with at least five 20-goal scorers.
3.Cozens has registered a point in four straight games, including a goal in each of the last three.
4.The Sabres finish the 2022-23 season with a 12-2-2 record against Western Conference opponents on the road. They are 17-8-2 overall in away games.
Tonight's win also marks the first time the Sabres have ever recorded six road wins against the Pacific Division in a single season.

Up next

The Sabres return home on Tuesday to host the Toronto Maple Leafs for the only time this season. Tickets are available here.
The game can be streamed exclusively on ESPN+ and Hulu with puck drop scheduled for 7:30 p.m.