This San Jose Sharks loss just feels…empty.
Teal faithful, if you turned off the TV after the second period last night, you actually saved yourself some pain. The Buffalo Sabres absolutely shut down the San Jose Sharks in a 5-0 rout at the SAP Center. After a scoreless first that honestly felt like it had potential, the wheels just completely fell off. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was phenomenal in net for Buffalo, making 23 saves, but let's be real, the Sharks only managed 16 shots on goal. That's a Corsi of 32 for the Sharks, which is just not going to cut it against any NHL team, let alone one with the offensive punch of the Sabres. Nolan Ostlund started the scoring at 9:05 of the second, and then things escalated quickly with goals from Steven Carrick and Rasmus Dahlin just over a minute apart. Dahlin even added another assist on Carrick's second goal in the third. It was just one of those nights where nothing clicked, and the Sabres were clinical.
This loss drops the San Jose Sharks to 32-29-6, keeping us at 70 points and clinging to that 5th Wildcard spot. Our last ten games are now an even 4-4-2, which tells you we're treading water more than making a strong push. What does this mean going forward? We're heading into a crucial stretch, and games like this, where we're completely shut out at home, just can't happen if we expect to make any noise in the standings. The mood here in San Jose, CA this morning feels a lot like when you hit all the green lights on 880 only to get stuck in gridlock right before the Coleman Avenue exit. It was a promising start, but the finish was just…stagnant.
Teal faithful, we're patient. We've been patient. We're still here. This is P-Nair.
You know, the morning crew always has the sharpest takes on these rough nights. Tune in to mornings.live to hear what they're saying.