Main storyline: The Buffalo Sabres (4-13-2) took its frustrations out on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night with a 6-2 thrashing of the Leafs. The Sabres look to get its second win in a row as they take on the San Jose Sharks (10-8-2) on Tuesday night from the First Niagara Center.
Season series: Tuesday’s game is the second and final matchup between the two teams this season. The two teams last played on October 25 in San Jose, which resulted in a 2-1 win for the Buffalo Sabres. The game remained scoreless into the third period until Cody Hodgson and Nick Deslauriers scored two goals just 2:14 apart to give the Sabres a 2-0 lead. Brent Burns scored 13-seconds later to pull the Sharks within one, but Michal Neuvirth shut the door on the Sharks to preserve the win for the Sabres. The Sabres have won seven straight games against the Sharks dating back to January 23, 2010.
Where they stand: The Sabres are still sitting in the basement of the National Hockey League standings with 10 points in 19 games played so far this season. In the Atlantic Division, they sit in last place with the next worst team being the Florida Panthers with 17 points. For the Sharks, they currently sit in fifth in the Pacific Division with 22 points. San Jose currently sit in seventh in the Western Conference.
Recent performance: After allowing three straight six-goal games to opposing teams, the Sabres get a six-goal game of their own with its 6-2 win over the Leafs on Saturday. The Sabres put up a season high 35 shots on Toronto, and scored more goals in the three games where the team gave up 18 goals. Zemgus Girgensons scored two goals, while Tyler Ennis added a goal and two assists in the game. For the Sharks, they last played on Sunday in Carolina beating the Hurricanes 2-0. Sharks rookie goaltender Troy Grosenick stole the show making 45 saves and earning his first career shootout in his NHL debut.
Buffalo notes: The Sabres are finally back into the win column, and that has been thanks to, in some part, some superb goaltending. Michal Neuvirth may only be 3-5-1 in nine games started this season, but he has faced 329 shots, and has turned away 302 of those shots resulting in a 2.96 GAA and a .918 save-percentage. Buffalo is also getting contributions from the players who are expected to be leaders in scoring. Tyler Ennis is tied with Drew Stafford for the team lead in points with 12, while Girgensons has 10 points and is tied with Ennis for the team lead in goals with six. Matt Moulson is beginning to produce more, as he is right behind with 8 points (2+6) in 19 games. Josh Gorges is the only injury for the Sabres at the time being, as he could be out weeks with a knee injury suffered last week against St. Louis.
Opponent notes: The San Jose Sharks have had an up-and-down month of November going 4-4 in eight games so far this month. Joe Thornton currently leads the Sharks with 18 points (7+11), while Brent Burns and Joe Pavelski are right behind Thornton with 17 points on the season. On the injury front, Mike Brown (hand), Raffi Torres (knee), and Alex Stalock (lower body) are all on injured reserve.
Conclusion: The Sabres will look to win its second consecutive game for the first time all season, and the eighth straight game against the Sharks. Michael Neuvirth is expected to get the start for the Sabres once again, while it appears the Sharks will start rookie Troy Grosenick once again in the nets. Opening face-off is scheduled for 7:30pm. The game tonight will be NBCSN, but you can hear Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray call Tuesday’s game on WGR 550 AM.