Sabres at Sharks | How to watch, lineup notes, and storylines

SAN JOSE – Owen Power was asked Friday night about the significance of the Buffalo Sabres pulling their record above .500 for the first time this season.

The Sabres had reached .500 on multiple occasions, but each time a loss in their next game set them back. Their 3-2 victory in Anaheim not only pushed them over that hump, it placed them in the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference at 10-9-1.

“I mean, it’s huge,” Power said. “There’s been a couple times that we’ve had the chance to do it and haven’t been able to do it, so I think hopefully now that we’re over, we’re able to continue to get these wins.”

The Sabres have a chance to sweep their California road trip and keep building momentum when they visit the San Jose Sharks on Saturday at SAP Center.

The puck drops at 8 p.m. Here’s what you need to know in the meantime.

How to watch

TV (Buffalo broadcast market): MSG (Pregame coverage begins at 7:30 p.m.)

Streaming (out of market): ESPN+

Radio: WGR 550

Click here for more ways to watch Sabres games.

Lineup notes

The Sabres will not hold a morning skate, so look for lineup updates after coach Lindy Ruff meets with the media pregame around 6 p.m. EST.

Tage Thompson has missed the last four games with a lower-body injury but has not been ruled out for tonight’s game.

“I’m hopeful,” Ruff said pregame on Friday. “There’s a good opportunity, but no guarantee.”

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen started the first game of the back-to-back set, which could line up James Reimer to make his Sabres debut in goal. Reimer was reacquired by the Sabres off waivers from Anaheim on Nov. 13.

Storylines

1. About last night

The Sabres trailed the Ducks 2-0 with less than two minutes in the second period, but goals scored 50 seconds apart by Alex Tuch and Jason Zucker swung momentum in their favor.

Jiri Kulich scored the winning goal with one minute left to play in overtime, made possible by a heady play from Tuch to tie up his man on a rebound in front of the Anaheim net. The rebound bounced all the way to left circle, where Kulich was waiting to shoot on an open net.

“I think you’ve got to find ways to win those games,” Ruff said. “They’re hard to win. But you’ve got to give the group a lot of credit.”

Read more in Friday’s Postgame Report.

2. Power’s play

Power tallied two assists in Anaheim, giving him sole possession of the NHL lead among defensemen with 15 even-strength points this season.

Power earned his first assist Friday by breaking up a pass in front of his own net, poking the puck forward in the direction of Zucker to send him loose on a breakaway for the tying goal.

“I knew the guy was in a pretty good spot to score if he got the puck, their guy, so I was just worried about getting a stick on it and kind of breaking it up,” he said. “Luckily it kind of went over everyone’s head and Zucks was there for a breakaway.”

He then assisted on the overtime winner, taking the shot on the odd-man rush that created the rebound for Kulich. It was his seventh assist in the last six games.

3. Scouting the Sharks

The Sharks will be honoring the face of a past era when they retire Joe Thornton’s number to the rafters ahead of the game. The expected face of their next era will be on the ice once the puck drops.

Macklin Celebrini, the No. 1 pick in this past summer’s NHL Draft, scored an overtime winner against Detroit earlier this week and had two assists in the Sharks’ overtime loss in St. Louis on Thursday. The 18-year-old has seven points in 10 games this season.

Celebrini headlines a young Sharks team that remains in last place in the Pacific Division at 6-11-5. William Eklund, a first-round pick in 2021, ranks second on the Sharks with 16 points.

Game notes

• Tuch’s two-point night in Anaheim gave him sole possession of the team lead with 20 points this season. He enters Saturday on a five-game point streak.
• The Sabres penalty kill is 7-for-7 through the first two games of the California road trip.
• Reimer played 99 games for the Sharks spanning two stints with the organization. He was with San Jose as recently as 2022-23.
• The Sabres have won four straight games against the Sharks. They won 5-2 in their most recent visit to San Jose behind two goals from JJ Peterka and a three-point night from Dylan Cozens.