The Buffalo Sabres continue their 5 game west coast road trip tonight in California as they face the San Jose Sharks.
This season is off to a rocky, inconsistent start for the Buffalo Sabres. Coming off a strong performance in Arizona, the Sabres struggled Tuesday night in Las Vegas as they fell to the Golden Knights 4-1.
Despite the loss on Tuesday, the Sabres continue to be off to their best start in 7 seasons. With 3 wins and 3 losses, the start of the year could be going much worse.
The most glaring issue for the Sabres in the loss to the Golden Knights was the power play. The Sabres were 0 for 6 with the man advantage and are now 4 for 24 on the power play for the season. 3 of this season’s power play goals have been scored by Conor Sheary.
Despite the anemic power play, head coach Phil Housley was quick to point out the importance of even strength hockey:
"“Five-on-five differential, you’re going to hear that a lot from me, but that’s the difference between winning and losing. Obviously, your special teams have to play an important role, but you can’t count on them all the time because it’s not going to happen all the time.” – Phil Housley"
Phil Housley will continue to shuffle the third line for tonight’s game. Patrik Berglund, reportedly “banged up” in the game against Vegas, will be replaced in the lineup by Remi Elie. Elie, signed off of waivers from the Dallas Stars this offseason, has zero points in 2 games this season.
Everything else in the lineup will remain the same, including Carter Hutton getting the start in the net. Hutton saved 25 of 28 shots against Vegas however he has always played well against the Sharks, winning 4 of 6 starts with a goals against of just 1.32.
With Hutton in goal tonight, we can expect to see Linus Ullmark play against the Los Angeles Kings or Anaheim Ducks this weekend.
The San Jose Sharks, favored by many to win the Pacific Division, are playing their first game at home after a 5 game road trip which saw them win 2 of 5 – games. The defense, with newly acquired Erik Karlsson, has yet to click and they have blown third period leads in their last 2 games, losses to the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils.
Martin Jones will be in net for the Sharks tonight, making his 5th start of the season. Jones also has not started off great, allowing 3 or more goals in 3 of his 4 starts.
Tonight will also mark the first time Evander Kane will be facing his former club. Since being traded to San Jose from Buffalo, Kane has been superb putting up 19 points in 23 regular season games. Kane currently plays on the top line with Joe Pavelski and Kevin Labanc.
After tonight the Buffalo Sabres head to Southern California for weekend match-ups with the Kings and Ducks. Tonight’s game can be seen on MSG and heard on WGR 550.