At the Horn | Sabres 5 - Sharks 2

Buffalo Sabres forward JJ Peterka recorded his second consecutive two-goal game while Dylan Cozens tallied a goal and two assists to lead the Sabres in a 5-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks inside SAP Center on Saturday.

Buffalo erased a 2-0 deficit in the first period and never looked back, scoring five unanswered goals from Peterka, Jordan Greenway, Alex Tuch, and Cozens.

Casey Mittelstadt added a pair of assists to secure the Sabres’ second straight win.

With his three-point night, Cozens extended his point streak to four games. He has tallied seven points (3+4) in that span.

Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 23 saves in his eighth start in the last 10 games to improve to 4-3-0 in the month of January.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Jan Rutta scored for the Sharks while Kaapo Kahkonen made 31 saves in the opposing net.

Sabres forward Jack Quinn, who recorded an assist and two shots in 12:31 of ice time, exited the game with 12:53 left in the third period and did not return after taking a hit into the boards by Tomas Hertl.

SCORING SUMMARY

Period 1, 8:06 – Marc-Edouard Vlasic from William Eklund and Ty Emberson (1-0, SJS)

The Sabres outshot the Sharks 6-1 to open the period before San Jose found the back of the net on its second shot of the game. Eklund passed the puck to the left wall into space while Vlasic was pinching in. Vlasic collected the puck and ripped a shot from the left circle to beat Luukkonen short side with traffic in front of the crease.  

Period 1, 10:42 – Jan Rutta from William Eklund (2-0, SJS)

The Sharks struck again 2:36 later after the Sabres were unable to clear the puck out of their own end. Rutta fired a shot from the Buffalo blue line, which deflected off of defenseman Ryan Johnson’s stick and into the net.

Period 1, 14:14 – JJ Peterka from Dylan Cozens and Owen Power (2-1, SJS)

Buffalo made its way onto the scoresheet with 5:46 remaining in the opening period. Power took a shot from the left faceoff dot and Cozens picked up the rebound, skating behind the net and finding Peterka in front with a wraparound pass. Peterka scored his 17th goal of the season and fourth in his last five games to cut the deficit to one.

Period 1, 18:01 – Jordan Greenway from Alex Tuch and Casey Mittelstadt (2-2)

Greenway tied the score with 1:59 to go in the first after Mittelstadt and Tuch worked the puck along the half wall. Tuch skated through the San Jose defense and fed Greenway in front of the blue paint to enter the first intermission even at 2-2.

Period 2, 1:35 – Alex Tuch from Casey Mittelstadt (3-2, BUF)

The Sabres took their first lead of the day less than two minutes into the second period when Mittelstadt and Tuch connected for Buffalo’s third goal. Mittelstadt stripped the puck from Nico Sturm in the San Jose zone then passed to Tuch, who wristed a shot from the right circle for his 14th tally of the season.

Period 3, 4:33 – JJ Peterka from Dylan Cozens and Jack Quinn (4-2, BUF)

Buffalo extended the lead 4:33 into the third when Quinn led the Sabres on a 3-on-2. Cozens skated up the middle and received a pass from Quinn before feeding Peterka for a one-timer from the right circle for his team-leading 18th goal of the season.

Period 3, 15:42 (EN) – Dylan Cozens, unassisted (5-2, BUF)

While playing 4-on-4 with Connor Clifton and Eklund in the box, the Sharks pulled their goalie for an extra attacker. Cozens took advantage of the empty-net opportunity, ripping a shot from the San Jose blue line into the net.

HIGHLIGHTS

POSTGAME COMMENTS

UP NEXT

The Sabres will return from the All-Star break on Tuesday, Feb. 6 to host the Dallas Stars at KeyBank Center.

Tickets are available here. 

Pregame coverage on MSG/MSG+ kicks off at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7. Radio coverage can be found on WGR 550.