'We've got a will to win' | Reimer makes 31 saves as Sabres sweep road trip with comeback win over Sharks

SAN JOSE – James Reimer has played 15 seasons in the NHL for six different organizations. He’s been on playoff teams, last-place teams, and everything in between.

His perspective, then, came from a place of experience as he assessed the growth he’s seen from the Buffalo Sabres this season following a 4-2 win over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night. The win completed a three-game sweep of the team’s California road trip and propelled the Sabres into third place in the Atlantic Division, four points over .500.

Reimer joined the Sabres on a one-year deal this past summer and remained with the club through its 0-2 start in Czechia before being claimed off waivers by Anaheim in early October. He was claimed back off waivers on Nov. 13, amid the Sabres’ current 7-2-0 run.

• Next home game: Wednesday vs. Minnesota

“I think it’s maturity,” Reimer said. “It’s understanding and being aware of the game and what’s in front of you. Just locking it down when you need to lock it down. Blocking shots, getting pucks deep. It’s a million things, but it comes down to being mature with the puck.

“This team, we’ve got a ton of talent and we compete hard. We’ve got a lot of will to win in here. We’ve got a lot of good qualities and, as we grow as a team, we’re going to get better and better as we mature.”

The Sabres managed to win three games in four nights in California despite the absence of their leading goal scorer in Tage Thompson, who missed all three contests and remains day to day with a lower-body injury. They grinded out a 1-0 victory in Los Angeles, then erased a two-goal deficit to earn an overtime win in Anaheim.

It was another tight game in San Jose. The Sharks, fueled in part by an emotional jersey retirement ceremony for Joe Thornton, barraged Reimer with 11 shots in the first 10 minutes before Fabian Zetterlund opened the scoring off a rebound.

Peyton Krebs picked the near-side corner on a shot from the left circle to tie the score at 1-1 just 1:04 after Zetterlund’s goal, but the Sharks regained the lead on a Luke Kunin goal in the second period. The Sabres still trailed to open the third, but their confidence never wavered.

“Well, we’ve been in two previous games (that) were both tight games, (where) we were tied or behind going into the third period,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “So, you feel good about trying to get back into it.

“I thought we set the tone. We came out in the third period and the first couple shifts were exactly what we needed.”

Dylan Cozens rifled a one-timer from the high slot to tie the score just 2:07 into the third, aided by a deft extra pass from Rasmus Dahlin and a net-front screen from Zach Benson.

Less than four minutes later, with the Sabres on the penalty kill, Alex Tuch forced a turnover at the blue line and beat Sharks goalie MacKenzie Blackwood for his third shorthanded goal of the season. Dahlin added an empty-net goal in the final seconds to seal the victory.

Tuch lauded the group afterward for its effort, particularly given the late night of travel from Anaheim to San Jose the night prior.

“It’s a quick turnaround, honestly,” he said. “That’s a team that’s been playing really well, they’ve been playing hard. They took it to us at times, but we didn’t fold. We kept going. We had a really big game by Reims and that’s what we need.

“We need to be able to battle on those back to backs, we need to be good against teams that are playing with a lot of passion, a lot of willpower. We had all 20 guys going tonight, so it was good.”

The Sabres went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill, improving to 12-for-12 in the three California wins. That, along with their resilience in tight games, was a throughline of a successful road trip – as was the play of their goaltenders.

Following two strong starts from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Reimer made his season debut against the Sharks. It was his first start since Oct. 27, when he was a member of the Ducks. The 36-year-old leaned on his experience in the meantime, making it a point to practice with intention so he would be ready when his next call came.

It was Reimer’s steady play that prevented the Sharks from building a larger lead during their first-period barrage. He remained strong in the third period, including a pair of stops on Tyler Toffoli attempts from the slot that would have tied the game 3-3.

“He had a spectacular performance,” Ruff said. “There’s not much else you can say except we needed him to keep us in the game, and he did. And he made a couple saves that, for the record, were unbelievable saves.”

The highlight of Reimer’s night came during a second-period penalty kill, when Sharks rookie Macklin Celebrini fired a one-timer from the right circle. Reimer got just enough of the shot to send the puck hurdling above him but had the presence of mind to snatch it out of mid-air as he fell forward to the ice.

“The pass went across and then I blacked out,” Reimer said. “That’s my recollection. No, I was late on the pass across. If I could do it over again, I’d like to find a way to keep my feet, but I was late and so I kind of sprawled across, got a tip of it and I just kind of saw it tip off my glove.”

While the trip may have been a testament to the Sabres’ maturity, the highlight was a show of youth from their most veteran member.

“That’s just seven-year-old street hockey goalie James playing,” he said. “It’s fun to make some of those.”

Here’s more from the win over the Sharks.

1. Tuch moved into a tie with Florida’s Sam Reinhart for the NHL lead with three shorthanded goals this season.

“His penalty killing has been great, and then obviously when he gets an opportunity he’s been able to make a difference with the shorthanded goals,” Ruff said. “That’s the biggest one of the year for us. But there were some key kills there in the third period that he was a part of and he takes a lot of pride in being that guy.”

The goal was Tuch’s team-leading 21st point of the year and extended his point streak to six games.

2. Krebs paid tribute to Thornton after scoring his first-period goal, pointing to Thornton’s No. 19 banner in the rafters and then pointing to the No. 19 on the back of his own jersey.

3. Dahlin’s empty-net goal moved him into a tie for second among NHL defensemen, two back from league leader Cale Makar. Dahlin’s 19 points are tied for fourth among defensemen.

Up next

The Sabres return home to host the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday. Tickets are available here.

Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7.