Buffalo Sabres Opponent Outlook: San Jose Sharks
When the Buffalo Sabres face San Jose Sharks this season, can they once again walk away with a pair of wins like they did last season? Or will the Sharks bite and take a win – or more – from the Sabres, despite their new additions in guys like Jack Eichel, Ryan O’Reilly and co.?
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The Sharks finished last season fifth in the Pacific Division with 89 points – and overall, 12th in the Western Conference, but a solid 33 points ahead of last-place Arizona.
Their overall record was 40-33-9, with a 19-17-5 record at home and 21-16-4 on the road.
Joe Pavelski led the Sharks with 70 points in 82 games last season, including a team-high 37 goals. Logan Couture put up 67 points, while Joe Thornton notched 65 – including a team-high 49 assists. Couture also led the team with 263 shots last season.
Last season, the Buffalo Sabres picked up a pair of wins against the San Jose Sharks, overall outscoring them by a margin of 6-2. The first win saw the Sabres extend the Sharks’ losing streak to four games, while the second saw the Sabres come out despite being outshot 30-14, and capture the win.
Nicolas Deslauriers had a pair of goals against the Sharks, while Brian Gionta had a pair of goals and an assist. Zemgus Girgensons, Cody McCormick, Sam Reinhart, Rasmus Ristolainen and Mike Weber also put up assists against the Sharks last season.
For San Jose, Brent Burns had both of the Sharks’ goals against Buffalo. Joe Thornton and Logan Couture notched the assists.
Alex Stalock and Troy Grosenick split the goaltending duties for San Jose, stopping 13 and 10 shots each. Michal Neuvirth and Jhonas Enroth both played for Buffalo against San Jose, including splitting time in the second meeting when Neuvirth was injured.
In their first trade of the summer, the Sharks picked up a conditional 2016 7th-round pick in exchange for defenseman Konrad Abeltshauser.
The Sharks then acquired goaltender Martin Jones from the Boston Bruins, sending a 2016 1st-rounder and forward Sean Kuraly to Massachusetts.
Also on the goaltending front, the Sharks sent the rights to Antti Niemi to the Dallas Stars in exchange for a 7th-round pick in 2015.
Through free agency, they re-signed netminder Aaron Dell and forward Micheal Haley, also picking up forward Joel Ward from Washington.
Matt Irwin signed with Boston, while former Buffalo Sabres forward John Scott signed with Arizona.
Taylor Fedun signed with Vancouver, while the Sharks also picked up former Penguins D Paul Martin.
One factor that may initially seem minor, but could end up proving quite helpful to the Sharks this season, is the move of their AHL club. Instead of having to bring in replacements all the way from Worcester, MA, the Sharks’ affiliate will now be the San Jose Barracuda.
Both the Sharks and Barracuda will play at the SAP Center, which will make it incredibly easy to get a call-up. Even if the team is on the road, it won’t be that far, as they’ll play many of their games within California against the other new AHL clubs.
The Buffalo Sabres and San Jose Sharks will face off twice this season, starting with a November 14th meeting in Buffalo. They’ll close out the season series on February 26th in San Jose.
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