Buffalo @ San Jose preview
SAP Center at San Jose
Last Meeting ( Nov 27, 2018 ) San Jose 2, Buffalo 3
The Buffalo Sabres have earned points in seven of eight games and showed a strong response to their first regulation defeat of the season, blanking Los Angeles on Thursday night as Carter Hutton recorded his second shutout in as many starts. Buffalo looks to wrap up its three-game California road trip on a high note in Saturday night's visit to the San Jose Sharks.
In his second season with the Sabres, Hutton set a franchise record for saves (47) in a shutout to improve to 5-0-0 with a 1.39 goals-against average. "We're pleased to see these back-to-back shutouts for him," Buffalo coach Ralph Krueger said of Hutton, who also blanked Dallas on Monday. "Congratulations to Carter, all his hard work is paying off here." Ex-Sabre Evander Kane came up big for San Jose on Wednesday, becoming the first player in franchise history to score three goals in the first period as the Sharks cooled off visiting Carolina 5-2. "Special moment for him," captain Logan Couture said of Kane. "He's a goal scorer. That's what he does. ... When he's hot, there's not many guys that are as hot as him. We're hoping that he rides that wave right now."
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, MSG-Buffalo, NBCS California (San Jose)
ABOUT THE SABRES (6-1-1): Conor Sheary returned to the lineup following a four-game absence and was reunited with linemates Casey Mittelstadt and Jimmy Vesey, who combined for all three goals in Los Angeles. Mittelstadt ended a six-game point streak by scoring his first two goals of the season and owns a plus-5 through eight games. "We've been having those conversations with you about the evolution of Casey and his line," Krueger said. "That's the kind of team we need to be. ... On a long trip like this, you need help, and you need everybody to chip in."
ABOUT THE SHARKS (3-4-0): Goaltender Martin Jones got off to a rocky start as San Jose opened the season with four consecutive losses, permitting four goals in each of his first three appearances, but he turned things around in his last two outings. Jones turned aside 68 of 71 in victories over Calgary and Carolina, withstanding a first-period onslaught by the Hurricanes to finish with a season-high 36 saves. “He’s been locked in the last couple nights and when he gets like this, he’s one of the best,” Couture said of Jones. "He played very well.”
OVERTIME
1. Hutton is 5-2-1 with a 1.74 goals-against average and two shutouts versus San Jose.
2. The Sharks have successfully killed off 22 of 24 penalties.
3. The Sabres have assigned F Curtis Lazar to Rochester of the American Hockey League.
PREDICTION: Sharks 3, Sabres 2