Sharks Can’t Carry Over Good Vibes From Thornton Jersey Retirement, Lose 4-2 to Sabres

The San Jose Sharks hosted the Buffalo Sabres on the day of Joe Thornton’s jersey retirement ceremony.

Fabian Zetterlund and Luke Kunin scored, but the Sharks lost 4-2 on a”Jumbo” night.

Period 1

Celebrini razzle-dazzle leads to a Sabres penalty.

PP1 is Liljegren-Celebrini-Wennberg-Toffoli-Granlund.

3 in: Good sprint by Smith to open side of slot on power play, Goodrow didn’t see him though. Smith-Goodrow-Eklund-Zetterlund-Walman are PP2.

5 in: Love that puck protection from Wennberg coming down, finds Toffoli in the slot.

8 in: Celebrini has been sharp tonight, don’t know if he’s missed a puck play so far.

Zetterlund goal: Off Zetterlund’s forecheck steal. Then he gets in front of the net, puts in the rebound from Walman point shot. He then does a “stroke a beard” celly, in honor of Jumbo. And points to the No. 19 in the rafters. Love it. San Jose Sharks off to a great start, 11-4 shots.

The beard celly 👌 pic.twitter.com/LZKefLaGmV

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) November 24, 2024

Krebs goal: But then the Sabres’ No. 19 Krebs answers back. That’s how you kill a great start. Krebs takes the puck off a rushing Liljegren’s stick, that can’t happen, then Krebs’s just shows a twisted wrister on the 2-on-1.

3 left: Small play, but Rutta “picks” Benson so he can’t get first step speed on the forecheck. Basically just stands in front of the Sabres’ F1 as puck is dumped in. Smart veteran play. It’s not a penalty because Rutta is literally occupying his own space. He just places himself smartly.

Kunin 10-9 Lafferty. Lafferty took Luke down, but I thought Kunin got the shots in.

San Jose Sharks had a good period, but they can’t come out with a lead. Per Natural Stat Trick, 19-19 5v5 Shot Attempts, Sharks 10-6 Scoring Chances, 4-0 High-Danger. They should be up.

Period 2

Kunin goal: San Jose Sharks have kept up their strong play. Wennberg strong along the wall, Toffoli hits him in front, and Kunin with a hard-charging backhand.

4 in: Celebrini can’t believe he missed that. Great pass from Smith. What a pass! Celebrini  looking up in the rafters. Went off shaft of Reimer’s stick? Wonder if long run, Celebrini will need to learn like Hertl did, relax, it’s just one shot, and pretty early in the game.

6 in: Fourth line draws a penalty, Sharks getting cheers for their, dare I say, dominant play. This is as good a tribute as you can have for Jumbo if you’re a Sharks player, bring back the old days of the Tank when this place was the hardest place to play maybe in the NHL. Celebrini has had a game, I think he’ll hit the scoresheet tonight.

7 in: What a glove save by Reimer on Celebrini. Glove, bounces off, in mid-air, Reimer catches it.

Eklund stuff chance on PP, again, Smith crashes the net at the right time. Like his reads there tonight.

9 left: Errant Celebrini pass in DZ, leads to Liljegren penalty. Big kill for Sharks, who have otherwise been great.

3 left: Good hustle and steal from Walman from behind on maybe Cozens who had a step.

Another strong period from the Sharks, but only a 2-1 lead.

Period 3

Cozens goal: Like I said, only a 2-1 lead. Both Granlund and Ferraro, under duress, but couldn’t get it out. Cozens fires from distance, Blackwood looked screened. A different type of challenge for the San Jose Sharks to overcome now. Not often have they vastly outplayed their opponent over the years, but find themselves in a closer game than maybe they ought to be.

4 in: Outstanding shift by Wennberg. Toffoli dive in DZ, gets puck ahead, then Wennberg gets on rush ahead of two Sabres. Looks like Dahlin angles him off well so he can’t complete the cross-slot pass to Kunin, but then Wennberg draws a penalty on Dahlin.

Tuch goal: Ouch. Granlund, under duress, makes an ill-advised pass back to the point, Tuch off to the races for a breakaway. It’s Tuch, but you also want that big timely save from Blackwood there.

7 in: San Jose Sharks love it, Peterka was trying to line up Celebrini, but the 18-year-old hits him first.

9 in: Grundstrom gets a little too fancy with the puck in OZ high, Sabres counter with a 2-on-1, Blackwood snuffs it out.

10 in: Wennberg has been the best San Jose Sharks player tonight. Beats his man wide with a move, then finds Toffoli for a Grade-A in the slot. That was San Jose’s first shot this period, like 11 minutes in.

8 left: Celebrini to Smith feed, draws a call. Here we go, can’t blow this power play.

5 left: Toffoli with another Grade-A chance from a Wennberg pass. Reimer. These couple power plays, think the Sharks are getting the shots they want.

3 left: Tough penalty for Thompson to take late, credit to Benson who kept his legs going.

That was a set short-handed play I think to try to spring Granlund. Off won draw, Ferraro rimmed it hard, Granlund jumped ahead of the defense, but the puck never got through.