Sharks lose 4-3 to Sabres in overtime
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Jack Eichel scored with 1:47 left in overtime to give the Buffalo Sabres a 4-3 overtime victory over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday at KeyBank Center.
After a shot on goal and a wild scramble in front of the Sharks net, Eichel poked a loose puck under goalie Martin Jones across the goal line for his second goal of the game and his fourth point of the night.
There was a brief review by officials, but it was determined there was no goalie interference.
Jones finished with 25 saves as the Sharks got goals from Dylan Gambrell, MarcEdouard Vlasic and Erik Karlsson, who tied the game at 3 when he scored off a nifty pass from Kevin Labanc at the 11:27 mark of the third period.
The Sharks kept Eichel off the scoresheet in their game against the Sabres over the weekend in San Jose and in the first period of Monday’s rematch.
Once Eichel and his teammates got going, though, the Sharks didn’t have an answer.
Gambrell and Vlasic both scored their first goals of the season in the first period as the Sharks took a 2-0 lead. But Eichel responded with a power-play goal in the second period, followed by assists on goals by Sam Reinhart.
The Sabres are now 19-2-1 all-time at home against the Sharks.
The second game of the Sharks’ five-game road trip continues Thursday in Montreal, followed by games in Toronto on Friday, Ottawa on Sunday and Boston next Tuesday.
The Sharks, specifically Jones, had kept Eichel off the scoresheet for four straight periods, including Saturday’s game at SAP Center which the Sabres won 4-3.
That changed in a big way in the second period Tuesday, as Eichel scored a powerplay goal on a one-timer from near the faceoff dot at the 7:21 mark that cut the Sharks’ lead to 2-1.
Eichel then assisted on the game-tying goal. He slid a pass across the ice just inside the Sharks blue line to Rasmus Ristolainen, whose shot toward the net was redirected by Reinhart past Jones with just 31 seconds left in the second period.
It was an excruciating way for the Sharks to end the period considering they had largely been playing the way they wanted at even strength up until that point.
Jones had 14 saves in the first period, including quality stops on Jeff Skinner and Kyle Okposo in the opening minutes to keep the game scoreless and allow his teammates a chance to find their legs. The Sharks were outshot 6-1 in the first 5:12.
Gambrell got the Sharks on the board at the 5:46 mark of the opening period, as he set up in the slot and redirected a shot from Erik Karlsson past Sabres goalie Carter Hutton for his first goal of the season.
After killing a penalty to Mario Ferraro, their 15th straight kill since the start of their Oct. 10 game against Chicago, the Sharks built on their lead thanks to a pretty play from Patrick Marleau.
After Brent Burns created a neutral zone turnover by the Sabres, Timo Meier picked up the loose puck with Logan Couture going to the net.
Vlasic jumped up in the play to create an odd-man attack just as Meier fed Marleau, who glided toward the net before he backhanded a pass to Vlasic for a tap-in.
The assist gave Marleau 1,170 points for his NHL career, tying him with Bobby Hull for 52nd all time. Marleau is now nine points back of Sergei Federov for 51st place.
The Elliot Christian High volleyball fell in straight sets to Stone Ridge Christian in a Central California Athletic Alliance match on Tuesday; the final scores were 25-8, 25-8, 25-9.
Morgan Burnell had four digs for the Eagles and teammate Sammie Tucker had three assists. Burnell also had two blocks, and Bailey Maynard and Tucker each had two kills.
St. Mary’s 3, Tokay 0
In Monday’s Tri-City Athletic League match at The Jungle, St. Mary’s also swept Tokay in straight sets; the final scores were 25-9, 25-17, 25-15.
Grace Polhemus had 21 assists and 14 digs for Tokay (3-6 in the TCAL, 5-8) and Kayly Pau had 15 digs and 13 kills. Jackie Patino had 15 digs.
Junior varsity
St. Mary’s 2, Tokay 0
The final scores of Monday’s contest, also at The Jungle, were the Rams 25-17, 25-22.
Darianna Guidi had 32 digs and two aces for Tokay. Caitlyn Nunes had three assists, three kills and two aces. Kimberly Mercado had six digs and three kills.