San Jose Sharks vs Buffalo Sabres: did Alexander Wennberg’s power-play strike shift the night at KeyBank Center?

San Jose Sharks entered KeyBank Center at 30-26 with 6 overtime losses and left with a 6-3 San Jose Sharks full-time result against the Buffalo Sabres, who came in at 40-19 with 6 overtime losses and 6 points. The Sharks finished with 20 shots and 23 hits, while the Sabres countered with 26 shots and 21 hits in a game that ended at 9:38 PM EDT.

First period

The San Jose Sharks opened the scoring with 1 goal in the first period, and the Buffalo Sabres answered with 2 first-period goals to take the early edge. The Sharks logged 1 first-period takeaway and the Sabres finished the night with 7 takeaways, which showed up in puck battles that tilted possession. The Sharks finished the game with 17 giveaways, while the Sabres posted 14 giveaways as both teams traded possessions in transition.

Second period

The Sharks scored 1 goal in the second period as part of a 3-goal total, and Alexander Wennberg recorded 2 points on 1 goal and 1 assist with 4 shots. The Sharks went 1-for-3 on the power play with 5 shots, and Wennberg’s power-play goal came during 5-on-4 time that totaled 4:06. Macklin Celebrini scored 1 goal on 1 shot for a 100 shooting percent night, and Mario Ferraro added 1 assist. The Sabres kept pace with 2 second-period goals at even strength as part of 6 even-strength goals, and their overall shooting percent finished at 23.

Third period

The Sharks scored 1 third-period goal, and Kiefer Sherwood added 1 goal on 1 shot while delivering 5 hits. Yaroslav Askarov finished with 20 saves on 25 shots against, and the Sharks recorded 16 blocked shots as the Sabres pushed play with 26 total shots. Buffalo added 2 third-period goals and tacked on 1 empty-net goal, and the Sharks closed at 49 faceoff win percent compared with 51 faceoff win percent for the Sabres.

Postgame notes

The Sharks were credited with 5 penalties for 24 penalty minutes, and Barclay Goodrow drew 3 penalties as San Jose tried to manage special-teams swings. The Sabres were assessed 6 penalties for 18 penalty minutes, and Buffalo finished 0-for-1 on the power play. The league game file listed Jack Quinn, Jason Zucker, and Beck Malenstyn as the 3 stars, and Buffalo’s goaltender earned the win with 17 saves on 20 shots. This San Jose Sharks vs Buffalo Sabres match summary reflected a night when the Sharks produced 2 even-strength goals and 1 power-play goal, while the Blue and Gold generated 6 goals at even strength. The post-game thoughts San Jose Sharks centered on a 15 shooting percent team mark on 20 shots and a minus-21 team plus-minus against a Sabres lineup that posted plus-20. The San Jose Sharks vs Buffalo Sabres review also included San Jose’s 27 faceoffs won and Buffalo’s 28 faceoffs won in a near-even split.

The San Jose Sharks will be broadcast as the away team against the Boston Bruins on 3/12/2026 at 7:00 PM EDT at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, with viewing on ESPN+, NESN, and NBCS-CA. Keep it locked for the next recap, and run this one back with a friend by sharing this article.