San Jose, Calif. (WGR 550) - JJ Peterka scored two goals and Dylan Cozens tallied three points, as the Buffalo Sabres wrapped up their west-coast road trip on Saturday with a sound win, 5-2, against the San Jose Sharks.
Buffalo's slow starts showed up to hurt them once again to start the first period.
The Sharks scored a pair of goals in a three-minute span to take a 2-0 lead, with both goals coming from defensive defensemen Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Jan Rutta, respectively.
However, the Sabres answered back in the first period with a pair of goals to tie the game up at 2-2 by the period's end.
JJ Peterka helped the Sabres get on the scoreboard with his 17th goal of the season, as he backhanded a pass from Dylan Cozens past a sprawled out Kaapo Kähkönen in goal for San Jose.
Just shy of four minutes later, winger Jordan Greenway connected on a feed from Alex Tuch to tie the game with 1:59 remaining before the first intermission.
The second period saw the Sabres claim the lead early, and never look back from there.
Just 1:36 into the middle stanza, Tuch scored his 14th goal of the season as he utilized a screen set up in front of the Sharks net. Jordan Greenway was there to provide the traffic, along with the help of a Sharks defender.
The Sabres and Sharks traded power play opportunities in the second period, but neither team was able to convert before the horn sounded to signal the end of 40 minutes.
Buffalo was able to double its lead in the third period, courtesy of Peterka once again. The German winger's second goal of the game came off a 3-on-2 rush into the San Jose end, as he one-time a pass from Cozens past Kähkönen for his 18th of the campaign.
It also marked his second-straight game with a two-goal performance.
Not all went smoothly in the third period for the Sabres, as winger Jack Quinn left the ice and went right to the locker room after a hit by San Jose's Tomas Hertl. Quinn needed help off the ice and would not return to the bench.
There was also some animosity between the two teams when Sabres captain Kyle Okposo had a quick scrap with Sharks defenseman Kyle Burroughs after the two players exchanged hits in the San Jose end.
Cozens iced the game with a little more than four minutes remaining, as he scored an empty-net goal to give Buffalo its second win in-a-row to close out its California road trip.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: 14:14 - JJ Peterka (17) (Dylan Cozens, Owen Power); 18:01 - Jordan Greenway (6) (Alex Tuch, Casey Mittelstadt)
SJS: 8:06 - Marc-Edouard Vlasic (3) (William Eklund, Ty Emberson); 10:42 - Jan Rutta (2) (William Eklund)
Second Period:
BUF: 1:35 - Alex Tuch (14) (Casey Mittelstadt)
SJS: NONE
Third Period
BUF: 4:33 - JJ Peterka (18) (Dylan Cozens, Jack Quinn); 15:44 - Dylan Cozens (10) ENG (Unassisted)
SJS: NONE
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Losi & Gangi Three Stars of the Game
1.) JJ Peterka - BUF
2.) Casey Mittelstadt - BUF
3.) Jordan Greenway - BUF
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What's next:
The Sabres will get some rest from their bye week combined with the NHL All-Star break
Buffalo will not play again until Tuesday, Feb. 6 when they host the Dallas Stars at KeyBank Center. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. EST with pregame starting at 6 p.m. EST with Mike Schopp and Bulldog.