CPF Hockey

Tuesday, March 10, 2026

Sharks 2025-26 Game 62 Recap: Sabres 6, Sharks 3 (3/10/26)

It was a tough one for the Sharks from the get-go against a red-hot Buffalo Sabres team, as the Sharks drop the first of five consecutive road games by a score of 6-3.

The Sabres jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on goals from Jack Quinn and Alex Tuch. Later in the opening period, Macklin Celebrini got the Sharks on the board with his 33rd goal and 90th point of the season, assisted by Will Smith. With this goal, Macklin Celebrini became the fourth player in Sharks history and ninth teenager in NHL history to score 90 or more points in a season. A few minutes after, two separate fights occurred: the first one at center ice between Zack Ostapchuk and Logan Stanley, followed by the second of two between Barclay Goodrow and Beck Malenstyn after Malenstyn took a cheap shot at Celebrini.

Early in the second period, the Sabres scored twice more on goals from Beck Malenstyn and Jason Zucker to extend their lead to three. Later in the middle frame, Dmitry Orlov laid a great hip check on Tage Thompson, and a massive scuffle involving every skater on the ice at the time ensued. With about 30 seconds remaining in the second period, the Sharks cut their deficit to two on Kiefer Sherwood's career-best 20th goal of the season, assisted by Mario Ferraro and Alex Wennberg.

The Sabres began the third period with Jack Quinn's second goal of the game to make it 5-2. San Jose followed that up with Alex Wennberg's 13th goal of the season to make it a two-goal game once more, assisted by Tyler Toffoli. With about a few minutes remaining in this contest, Buffalo finished this one off with an empty-netter from Jack Quinn to complete his hat trick.

Yaroslav Askarov recorded 20 saves on 25 shots against to begin this five-game road trip for the Sharks. In addition, Philipp Kurashev was back in the Sharks lineup tonight in Buffalo, while Ryan Reaves came out of the lineup as a result. Nick Leddy was recalled from the Barracuda to ride the bench as the seventh defenseman, while Nolan Allan was sent down to the Barracuda.

Regardless of how good the Sharks and Sabres are during any given season, the Sharks have often struggled when facing the Sabres in Buffalo, and this was especially the case tonight. With the Sabres firing on all cylinders, riding an eight-game win streak, and finding themselves atop the Atlantic Division, I did not expect the Sharks to pull off a victory in this game. On a more positive note, a few important Sharks player milestones were accomplished: 90 points for Macklin Celebrini and 20 goals for Kiefer Sherwood this season. The Sharks travel to Boston to face the Bruins in their next game on Thursday at 4 pm PT.

Sources: NBC Sports California, NHL App

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Sunday, March 8, 2026

My 17th NHL Game: Islanders 2, Sharks 1 (OT) (3/7/26)

I am back at the Shark Tank for the second consecutive week, and this time it is to see the Sharks take on the New York Islanders for the second time in person. The biggest addition on the Islanders this year compared to my first time seeing them play in person around this time last year that I was looking forward to viewing the most was their rookie defenseman phenom Matthew Schaefer. Like with this matchup last year, the promotional theme surrounding Sharks-Islanders at the Tank this year was Women of Teal night, and everyone in attendance and I received free insulated bucket hats. Since I arrived at the arena later than I would normally, I missed warmups as a result, bur it was not a huge deal since I did not miss any of the game itself. It is worth noting that Ryan Reaves was back in the Sharks lineup against the Islanders, Nolan Allan was called up from the Barracuda to be the Sharks’ seventh defenseman, and Philipp Kurashev was a healthy scratch for this game.

Prior to the official start of this contest, the Sharks brought out Canadian three-time Olympic gold medalist Rebecca Johnston for the ceremonial puck drop. The Sharks gave up the first goal of the game for the fourth consecutive contest, this time via Tony DeAngelo in the first period. The Sharks responded 33 seconds into the second period, when Macklin Celebrini picked the corner for his 32nd goal of the season, assisted by Will Smith and John Klingberg. Team Teal generated plenty more great scoring chances throughout the night, but were unable to get any others past Ilya Sorokin. There were a few scuffles and some inconsistent officiating mixed in as well. Things stayed even at one until overtime, where the Islanders would win it in the final minute of the bonus period on a goal from Bo Horvat. Yaroslav Askarov performed well despite not getting the win, compiling 32 saves on 34 shots against.

Lastly, I visited the team store after the game, where I bought a collectible mini helmet. Overall, it was a good and close game for the Sharks against the Islanders, but it could have been better. On a more positive note, Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith each bounced back from their performances against the Blues the night before, and the Sharks earned a very important point in the Western Conference Wild Card race. Their record now falls to 7-5-4 when I am at their games, and I am pretty sure I will receive at least one or two more opportunities to attend Sharks games before the end of this season and officially be halfway through seeing all 32 NHL teams play in person. Next up for the Sharks, they hit the road for their next five games starting on Tuesday in Buffalo against a resurgent Sabres team at 4 pm PT.