The Buffalo Sabres beat the San Jose Sharks 2-0 on Tuesday night at SAP Center, with goaltender Colten Ellis turning aside all 23 shots he faced for the shutout. Olen Zellweger and Zach Benson scored the goals as Buffalo improved to 5-4-3.
The Sabres broke a scoreless tie 50 seconds into the second period when Zellweger beat Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov with a snap shot, assisted by Konsta Helenius and Owen Power. San Jose, which trailed 23-40 in shots, could not solve Ellis the rest of the way. Benson sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 19:05 of the third period on a wrist shot assisted by Tage Thompson and Power. Askarov made 38 saves for San Jose, which dropped to 6-6-1.
Key Moments: How Buffalo Won The Sabres Sharks 2-0 Recap
Buffalo fired 40 shots on Askarov to San Jose’s 23 on Ellis. Ellis stopped everything, including power-play chances across the Sharks’ three man-advantage opportunities. Neither team scored with the extra man: Buffalo went 0 for 3, San Jose also 0 for 3. San Jose led in physical play with 35 hits to Buffalo’s 16 and won the faceoff battle 55.2% to 44.8%, but Buffalo blocked 20 shots and limited high-danger chances.
Top Performers
Owen Power led all skaters with two assists, setting up both goals while logging 24:49 of ice time. Zellweger scored his third goal of the season on the opening strike. Benson’s tally at 19:05 of the third was his first goal.
Ellis stopped all 23 shots for the shutout. Macklin Celebrini led San Jose with four shots and won 15 of 25 faceoffs.
What It Means
The win moved Buffalo to 13 points in the Atlantic Division, tied with Detroit for seventh. San Jose dropped to 13 points in the Pacific, fourth place behind Vegas, Edmonton and Seattle. Buffalo leads the season series 1-0.
What’s Next
Buffalo continues its road trip. San Jose looks to rebound at home.
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