Sharks blanked at the Tank in disappointing 5-0 loss vs. red-hot Sabres

On “Sharks Postgame Live,” NBC Sports California’s Alan Hoshida and Dan Boyle discuss San Jose’s loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday at SAP Center.

Sharks blanked at the Tank in disappointing 5-0 loss vs. red-hot Sabres originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Video Transcript

A disappointing finish here out at SAP Center.

The Buffalo Sabres are now 11-0-1 in their last 12 road games.

You just heard Lyon, Alex Lyon get his second straight shutout on the road.

Ooh, the Sabres are a-waggin’.

Welcome in to Toyota Sharks Postgame Live, Alan Hoshita with Dan Boyle.

And much like the first meeting just about nine, 10 games ago, we were really impressed with the Buffalo Sabres, but I wanna start with this.

The Sharks had chances- Mm-hmm early on in this game, and you don’t know when your chances are gonna come- Yeah but you gotta bury them, and that changes the tenure, tenor of this game if they can get the job done early on.

That’s part of the game, scoring goal, isn’t it?

Yes.

16 shots against.

I mean, most coaches would say that’s a winning recipe, but unfortunately, I think the s- the Sabres tonight were opportunistic with their, chances, and the Sharks were not.

the better team won tonight.

Yeah.

Even though the shot count was a little bit in, San Jose’s favor, I think Buffalo was better.

and again, just being opportunistic on their chances.

You know, I would say, let’s guess what the Toyota turning point of, of this game was, but I think we all know what the turning point of this game was.

It was in the second period.

After Will Smith had hit a cross bar, the Buffalo Sabres come back and score three goals on back to back to back shifts on three straight shots.

Alex Nedeljkovic, that one’s not his fault, obviously.

A lot of these you’re gonna see are not Alex Nedeljkovic’s fault, but he did not make the save in that period, and the Buffalo Sabres, they are a quick strike offense.

Yeah, I was very impressed with them.

I don’t get to watch them very much, but there’s a lot of talent there, and I was very impressed with Dahlin.

Obviously, one of the better defensemen in the league, but I got to watch him up close tonight.

Kept an eye on him, and he was he was very good.

Yeah, he has a goal there.

He had an assist on the prior play.

What is it about a team that can transition the way the Buffalo Sabres do, that puts so much pressure on the defense?

their gaps were very good.

What I mean by, mean by gaps, defensemen being up, cutting off the play before it gets to your own blue line, sometimes as far as the red line or the far blue line.

Their D-men were up, forwards were back, and the Sharks never got anything going.

The Sabres goaltender, Alex Lyon, also was very good tonight.

There was a couple shots that get past him, but they don’t opportunity get that in, so the Xfinity Play Smart is playing the goalie that’s very hot right now.

He has 10 straight road wins, and now they, he has another shutout, his third of the season, and he just looked in complete control.

When the Sabres needed him, he locked it down.

And you’re gonna see, though, these are good shots by the San Jose Sharks.

Yeah.

He made the saves he needed to, then he had his posts to back him up on a few of the occasions, I believe in the second period.

obviously playing well.

I mean, you don’t win 11 games in a row and, and that’s just good b- you know, good guys coming back to the net, helping out right there, and doing what they need to do.

Are the Sabres getting all the bounces they didn’t get for 15 years- while they were not very good, and now Like, that, that goes on, goes in on nine out of 10 nights- Yeah in the NHL.

That doesn’t go in tonight.

Yeah, but it’s been tough to be a Buffalo Sabre fan for many, many years, so, maybe they got something good coming their way.

It looks like a good hockey team over there.

What can the San Jose Sharks pull from this game and understand that they need to get better, during this stretch, 14, 15 games left in the season, as they push for a playoff spot?

They’re still right in it- Yeah because as we’ve talked about, Pacific division isn’t great.

I don’t know, they might’ve gone 0 for 6 tonight, so they’re still there.

It’s still there.

It’s still right in front of them.

How can they turn this around and get what they need to out of each game?

I, I don’t know how great of an answer this is gonna be, but obviously Mac and Celebrini drives the bus here, but I’d like to see other players, take a hold.

He’s not gonna get three, four points every night, although he has on most nights.

you need secondary scoring to be, to make, be a playoff team, and, and right now I’m just not seeing enough from your second, third liners and, you know, the occasional chip in from a fourth line and, that’s what I’d like to see.

All right.

Well, we’re up here, the bird’s-eye view.

Let’s go down a little bit lower to Randy and Drew for their thoughts on this one.

Drew, if this was a game where you just looked at the final score and didn’t examine the box score, you would think that the Sabres ran roughshod over the Sharks.

But through two periods, Buffalo had only eight shots on goal.

The problem is three of those- Yeah in a row went in, and then in the third period, the Sabres really did show why they are the hottest team in the NHL, and by the time this is all done, they might be the number one seed in the Eastern Conference going into the playoffs.

A very impressive team, without a doubt.

Even when the San Jose Sharks made a mistake, and they made three mistakes that all of a sudden in 103 seconds made it three-nothing, the Sharks were, as you said, playing a very smart game, and as coach, or assistant coach Brian Wiseman told us, they th- made three mistakes, and all of a sudden they end up in your net and you’re s- you’re scrambling.

You’re trying to find your game again.

Buffalo never varies from their game.

You wanna see consistency throughout a game.

You wanna see the team that plays with detail.

You wanna see a team that just sticks with it because they know what they do works.

Buffalo Sabres were that team tonight.

They, as you said, didn’t get a lot of chances, but the chances they got, they made it work.

They get up the ice quick, they go north-south, they get to the front of the net, and then they track back and get above the play.

So you don’t have a lot of time and space, but you also don’t have a lot of room for d- for errors.

It’s that big for the San Jose Sharks.

Their, their ability to play the game on the edge, and if you make a mistake, it’s ending up in your net when you’re playing a team as good as Buffalo.

So with a three-game losing streak, the Sharks now find themselves in a cluster with teams like Seattle, Los Angeles, and all of a sudden Nashville, all fighting for the same wild card spot in the Western Conference.

They’ll need points, hopefully, to come against the Flyers Saturday.

We’ll see you thenLast matinee game here at the Tank for the San Jose Sharks.

One thing that stood out to you, and you were on this from the get-go, is looking at defensive mobility Yeah and Rasmus Dahlin happens to be one of the best in the game, and you saw it on multiple occasion.

Yeah.

And then you also saw the contrast, where the San Jose Sharks don’t always have that.

So let’s start with the Buffalo Sabres, Rasmus Dahlin.

River Rock Daily Jackpot, show me what you saw.

Yeah.

Well, you talk about what you know.

I, I’m an offensive defenseman, or I was at least.

Here, when we look at this clip right here, he’s not skating very fast, he’s not skating very hard.

Makes a simple play, but he just keeps going up the ice.

He’s still skating very quietly, efficiently.

That’s a drop pass, I mean, that’s a goal.

Regardless, that was a very simple play.

On the next Oh, this is the replay right here.

Yeah.

He, he’s not skating hard.

He didn’t sweat right there.

Here he is right here.

He’s in the stop, or he’s right there on the top side.

We’re gonna see the replay of this.

There he is.

He’s gonna beat three guys up the ice, not ’cause he’s skating so powerfully fast, it’s just an efficient stride.

We’re gonna see the replay here.

He just pivots, and then he just beats everyone up the ice.

And I just think, I watched him all night, he doesn’t stop very often, and that’s an efficient way of playing as an offensive defenseman.

You can skate all day that way.

Yeah, you’re not giving up too much energy with the stop and stop.

As you know, even with cars, you talk about with cars- mileage, you want- It is as much flow as possible.

That’s why on the freeway you get more miles to the gallon.

So, just like Rasmus Dahlin, he’s moving the entire time, and that’s something that the young Sharks defenders, like Sam Dickinson- Yeah not just Dickinson, let’s not put it all on Dickinson- Yeah but we saw it with Sam Dickinson.

They can skate more.

They don’t always have to just hold the puck or stop.

And we’re gonna show a play here that kind of epitomizes that.

Yeah.

But it, like I said, it could be more than one guy.

Yeah.

That’s the one right there.

We’re gonna see I mean, obviously you gotta know before you get back to the puck where you’re gonna be.

Obviously that’s not gonna happen every game.

He knows that’s a bad play.

But I would’ve liked to him to pick up the puck and skate, challenge that guy.

Yeah.

He’s coming in at you, you make a little head fake.

Right there, I just, I don’t like that at all.

Go back, grab the puck, and skate that puck out.

He’s a very good skater.

He could’ve You know, there were many other plays other than that one.

Right.

Obviously, that’s the epitome of what not to do.

But, efficient skating, we’re taught stops and starts.

In the D zone, yes, but as an offensive defenseman, it’s, very good to just keep your momentum going.

And that camera be- you saw behind the goal.

You saw the right side.

He had some s- ice.

There was a lot- He could’ve- There was a lot of room, yeah he could’ve moved, and you make the Sabres come to you instead of making it easy for that.

And then you also saw in the third period, you don’t see, is that Sam Dickinson did do that.

Yes.

So he did move with the puck, and that’s t- ti- kind of learning how to do that more often than not, because a- as you said, move, keep your pace moving, keep your feet moving, and skate.

‘Cause that’s what you’re meant to do.

And, and it’s efficient, and there’s no worse place to be as a defenseman standing your feet wi- without any movement, standing still, getting caught, especially if you turn the puck over.

All of a sudden, you’re not moving, you’re done.

So that’s the worst position as a defenseman.

Well, I learned something new tonight sitting here watching this game with Dan Boyle, which was awesome to see.

Mario Ferraro also, we saw jump up.

He was always moving his feet a little bit.

He was blocking shots.

He’s been very good.

Here he is with some reaction right now.

For sure.

Yeah, we had a good first period, I thought.

you know, it came out pretty well.

and then, yeah, it’s, it was kind of a snowball effect after their first goal.

you know, couldn’t find a way to weather it.

We had our chances.

nothing fell.

But, yeah, second half of the game, definitely, definitely wasn’t our best and, you know, the results showed.

What do you guys maybe need to do better to handle their speed with like, a lot of their goals came off the rush there?

you know, I It’s hard to say.

I thought we were doing just that in the first.

I think we were playing fast and, simple, pucks out, pucks in.

you know, attention to detail, I think we kinda just lost that.

We kinda shot ourselves in the foot a little bit.

so I think just sticking to the game plan and trying to be as consistent as we can a 60-minute game.

you know, they’re gonna capitalize on those little opportunities that they had with their, with their speed and, you know, we just struggled to, to keep it tight for a full 60 minutes.

Yeah, the Sabres had just 16 shots though, so does it feel And some of their goals are just kind of bounces and that sort of thing.

It just, did it feel like you guys did more good than bad in this game?

I don’t know.

I, I think, you know, I don’t really look at the shots and all that stuff.

just look at our game overall as a whole.

Obviously, we’ll look, look more into it moving forward, tomorrow and get better.

But, you know, like I said, the first period, yeah, I didn’t think we, I didn’t think we gave up much.

you know, we played the right way.

And then, like I said, the, we gave up, you know, some, some quality chances in, in the second and a little bit in the third there too.

So, yeah, like I said, you know, sticking to the game plan, keeping it tight, defensively, just got away from us a little bit tonight and, and it showed.

They’re a fast team and they can score.

With that, with that said, does this just maybe reduce to the neutral zone a little bit tonight?

Do you see any issues there?

Yeah, I think so.

Maybe their speed off the rush.

you know, every goal was maybe a little bit different than the other, obviously.

but, you know, when we just, when we’re skating, off the puck and, and with the puck and, you know, playing fast and playing in, you know, more straight lines rather than east-west, I think we find more success.

I, like I said, I think we got away from that a little bit.

you know, whether it’s in the neutral zone or the D zone or the offensive zone, it’s, you know, keeping it direct and keeping it simple.

So obviously neutral zone play is very important against a team like that and, ’cause they’re fast and, you know, they definitely capitalized it on, in the second period and the third.

And particularly on the Dahlin- Sharks are shut out for the fourth time this season, but let’s go around the NHL and look at other Pacific division games and also teams that the San Jose Sharks are chasing down.

And I might have jumped the gun a little bit when I said all six or, you know, all, all the major Pacific teams that are playing tonight were gonna lose, but they’re losing at the moment.

The Kings are still in there.

So on one hand, you know, you lose this game, but like we said, they’re still in it.

They’re one point back.

Nashville suddenly is above them, and they’re s- trying to chase down the Kings and the Kraken, and now they have to jump three teams to do that.

But since the Pacific isn’t the quality as the other divisions, how much more can this give the San Jose Sharks?

Or how much do the Sharks just feel like, “All right, w- maybe we should look at the third place in the division”?

I, I, I’m gonna, I’m gonna tell you, I don’t think the coaches are gonna be telling the players to look at the standings.

No you don’t?

I don’t, I don’t think they want them to look at that.

I think they want them to play and look, concentrate on the product on the ice.

Yeah.

Win some games, and then you’ll end up at where you’re gonna end up.

We, now that I’m on this side of it- Yeah we’re looking at the- Dark side yeah, we’re looking at that.

Yeah, right?

The dark side.

we’re certainly looking at those positions and trying to figure out where we’re gonna sit, but I think the coaches are more worried about winning hockey games.

Well, that’s the thing, is every night you look and say, “Man, they could’ve won this game,” but no one’s pulling away from it.

No one’s playing, you know, getting points in- Yeah eight out of 10 games.

So it’s, it’s hanging there, and the Sharks are young, and if they can learn from this game where there’s times they played, outplayed the Sabres- Yep.

Yep then maybe they can flip this thing.

They still have some time to go, and they s- still have a home stand too.

All right.

Well, I will give, we’ll chalk this one up to road legs.

They’re coming back home.

But, next game, there’s no such thing as a must win, mathematically, but I think, I think this game against the Flyers here is, is as close to a, a need, must win as possible.

Yeah, and I saw the Flyers are a little banged up too, so they’re gonna come in here.

Matinee at the Tank.

Sharks need points, for sure.

All right, coming up on Sharks, Postgame Live, we are gonna hear from one of the Hobey Baker winners on the roster.

We were talking about Eric Paul Camp earlier.

Adam Gaudette after this.

Sharks blanked at the Tank in disappointing 5-0 loss vs. red-hot Sabres

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