At The Final Horn | Skinner scores twice as Sabres fall to Sharks

The Buffalo Sabres entered the third period down a goal, but the San Jose Sharks pulled away in the final frame to beat Buffalo 5-3 Tuesday night at SAP Center at San Jose.
Jeff Skinner scored twice and Drake Caggiula scored for the Sabres while Craig Anderson stopped 22 of 27 shots. Skinner recorded his first multi-goal game since April 6, 2019.
Tomas Hertl scored twice and Jonathan Dahlen, Ryan Merkley and Mario Ferraro also tallied for the Sharks. Merkley's goal was the first of his NHL career. James Reimer made 25 saves.
Buffalo's power play went 0-for-2 on the night. The team was 1-for-1 on the penalty kill.

How it happened

Dahlen put home a loose puck in front with a cluster of players in front of the Sabres net to open the scoring 7:25 into the game.
Buffalo responded just 1:23 later. After Tage Thompson drew a tripping penalty and the Sabres were able to maintain possession in the Sharks zone. Skinner took a shot from the point that found the back of the net with Rob Hagg setting up the screen.
The Sharks regained the lead with 7:11 remaining in the first period. Merkley's shot from the right point made its way through traffic and in past Anderson.
San Jose went up 3-1 at the 6:13 mark of the second period when the Sharks forced a turnover in the Sabres zone and Rudolfs Balcers found Hertl, who cut in on goal and scored his fourth marker of the season.
Caggiula rocketed a shot in with 6:27 remaining in the second to make it 3-2.
The Sharks struck first in the third period. Ferraro's slap shot from the point 6:02 into the final period put the Sharks back up by a pair.
Hertl added another with 8:14 left.
Skinner redirected in a floating puck with 1:47 left for Buffalo's third goal.

Roll the highlight film

Here's Caggiula's top-shelf goal:

Worthy of a mention

• Victor Olofsson, Buffalo's leading scorer, missed the game due to a soft-tissue injury he sustained during Monday's practice.
• Cody Eakin returned to the lineup after missing the past five games with an upper-body injury.
• Seven San Jose players (forwards Timo Meier, Kevin Labanc and Matt Nieto, defensemen Erik Karlsson, Jake Middleton, Radim Simek and Marc-Edouard Vlassic) and head coach Bob Boughner all missed the game due to being in the NHL COVID-19 protocol.
San Jose was without eight players and Boughner for a 2-1 overtime win against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday. Seven of the eight were in COVID-19 protocol while forward Logan Couture had a non-COVID illness.

Coming up

The Sabres will face the Seattle Kraken for the first time ever on Thursday. Faceoff from Climate Pledge Arena is set for 10 p.m. ET on MSG and WGR 550. Pregame coverage on MSG will begin at 9:30.
Buffalo's next home game is Saturday against Detroit. Tickets are on sale now.