Sharks unable to overcome defensive woes in loss to Sabres

Curtis Pashelka, Bay Area News Group on Mar 10, 2026

Published in Hockey

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The San Jose Sharks’ top priority if they want to continue challenging for a playoff spot down the stretch is keeping the puck out of their net.

The Sharks’ game Tuesday night against one of the NHL’s best teams was pretty much a disaster in that regard, as they allowed two goals in both the first and second periods and an especially deflating one early in the third in a 6-3 loss to the red-hot Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center.

Macklin Celebrini, Kiefer Sherwood, and Alex Wennberg all scored for the Sharks, with Sherwood’s goal at the 19:29 mark of the second period cutting the Sabres’ lead to 4-2, giving San Jose some life.

But the Sharks, caught running around in their own zone, allowed a second goal to Jack Quinn 33 seconds into the third period and never fully recovered as they opened a five-game road trip with their third straight loss. Quinn completed the hat trick, the first of his NHL career, with an empty-net goal with 2:46 to play as the Sabres won their eighth straight game.

Celebrini’s goal, his 33rd of the season, gave him 90 points, and Sherwood set a new career high with his 20th goal of the season.

The Sharks gave up an odd-man rush on Quinn’s first goal to open the scoring in the first period, and allowed net-front goals to Alex Tuch and Jason Zucker in the first and second periods, respectively. A Sam Dickinson puck-handling miscue also led to a Beck Malenstyn goal early in the second period.

The Sharks now have a goal differential of -26 on the season, and were 29th in the NHL in goals allowed per game (3.46) before Tuesday.

The Sharks trailed 2-1 after an entertaining first period that also featured two fights and a highlight-reel play from the Sharks’ top line.

The Sharks allowed goals to Quinn and Tuch and trailed 2-0 after the opening 5:39, but started to find their game as the period went on.

William Eklund and Shakir Mukhamadullin each had quality scoring chances before a Celebrini forecheck caused Tuch’s errant pass inside the Buffalo zone. Will Smith pounced on the loose puck, and fed Celebrini, who won the race to the front of the net and beat Sabres goalie Alex Lyon.

Only four players have scored at least 90 points in one season for the Sharks. Joe Thornton had 114 in 2006-07, 96 in 2007-08, and 92 in 2005-06 when he joined the Sharks in November of that season. Jonathan Cheechoo had 93 points that year, and Erik Karlsson had 101 points in 2002-23 in his third Norris Trophy season.

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff is among the legion of coaches impressed by Celebrini, who entered Tuesday as the NHL’s fifth leading scorer involved in 47% of the Sharks’ 189 goals this season.

“He scares me,” Ruff said Tuesday morning. “Incredible talent. I watched him in the Olympics. He’s an unbelievably talented kid. He’s a team driver, can drive your offense, and is unbelievably competitive. He can make plays that a lot of people can’t make.

“We know he’s one of those guys you try to limit. You’re not going to take away his opportunities, but you’ve got to try to limit the really good opportunities, because he’s a game changer.”

This road trip is arguably the Sharks’ most challenging of the season, as every team the Sharks play, as of Tuesday, was either in a playoff spot or just outside.

It’s easily the most important.

The Sharks entered Tuesday one point back of the Seattle Kraken for the second and final wild card spot in the Western Conference. With a trip of .500 or better, the Sharks would put themselves in an ideal spot for the stretch run, with only four of their final 16 games coming against teams that are now in a playoff position.

A losing record on the trip, which continues with stops in Boston, Montreal, Ottawa, and Edmonton, and the Sharks risk losing ground in a tight Western Conference playoff race while adding more importance to their remaining games.

Askarov was coming off a 32-save performance in the Sharks’ 2-1 overtime loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday to close a six-game homestand. In four starts since the Olympic break, Askarov before Tuesday, was 2-1-1 with an .885 save percentage. This was Askarov’s first career start against the Sabres.

Notable

The Sharks made one lineup change from Saturday’s loss, re-inserting forward Philipp Kurashev into the lineup with scratching Ryan Reaves. Kurashev was a surprise scratch against the Islanders, but started Tuesday’s game on a line with Alex Wennberg and Kiefer Sherwood.