After all of the consternation and hand-wringing about their performances through the first half of this road trip, the Sharks will still wake up Friday to one soothing fact.
They’re still just one game out of a playoff spot.
Forward Tomas Hertl had a goal and an assist and goalie Adin Hill made 37 saves as the Sharks used a strong first period to beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 on Thursday night at KeyBank Center.
Matt Nieto and Timo Meier also scored in the first period and the Sharks went 2-for-3 on the penalty kill to improve to 1-2-0 on this four-game road trip that wraps up Saturday in Philadelphia.
The Sharks lost to Pittsburgh on Sunday to Detroit on Tuesday by a combined score of 14-7. Despite those unsightly results, the Sharks (18-16-1) are still among a group of four teams, including Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Los Angeles, that are all within two points of each other for the second and final wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference.
“We’ve got 18 wins, and (we’re) probably right where we should be,” Boughner said. “We have over half a season to play. We talked about staying in the hunt and we’re doing that.”
Hill made 21 saves in the third period for his victory since Dec. 7.
“It was nice to see a lot of rubber, a lot of shots, get a feel for the puck in the net,” Hill said. “The two points are obviously huge for the standings. Anytime you look at them, they seem to get tighter and tighter. Teams aren’t losing that we want to lose, so we’ve got to keep winning.”
Since he made 24 saves in a 2-1 Sharks win over the New York Islanders on Dec. 2, Hill had a 1-4-0 record and a .888 save percentage in six games. He allowed two goals on seven shots on Tuesday in relief of James Reimer, who allowed four goals in 24 in the Sharks’ 6-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.
“It’s huge for his confidence,” Boughner said. “Goalies are just like anybody else. It’s about being confident and feeling good in the net.”
This could be Hill’s net for the immediate future.
Boughner said before Thursday’s game that Reimer is not 100 percent healthy right now as he deals with a lower-body ailment.
Reimer was one of the Sharks’ top players this season up until the Christmas break, as he owned a 9-5-1 record with a .936 save percentage in 16 games. Since Christmas, though, Reimer is just 2-2-0 with a .830 save percentage in four games.
Boughner said Reimer is “dealing with some maintenance things, really, with his body and his game, and we want to make sure that we give him the proper time to feel better before he gets back into action.
“It’s just unfortunate because (Reimer) had such a great start to the season and like the rest of our team, has dipped a little bit. I know he’ll get back and we want to make sure that when he does, he’s close to 100 percent, so give him that chance for success.”
The Sharks are carrying three goalies on their roster right now and Zach Sawchenko was Hill’s backup on Thursday. Hill, though, will presumably get the call on Saturday against the Flyers.
Hill entered Thursday with a 6-9-0 record and a .897 save percentage.
“I want Hiller to get back there and own that net,” Boughner said.
“I look back at the way he played in Toronto on our first road trip, the way he played in Calgary (on Nov. 9). He was big, he was confident. His job is not to win us a hockey game. His job is to make the saves he needs to make it, and give confidence to the rest of the team and be a calming effect, and that’s what I’ve asked him to do here.
The Sharks on Thursday played without injured defensemen Erik Karlsson and Jake Middleton, who were both hurt in the Sharks’ 6-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.
Karlsson might return for Saturday’s game in Philadelphia, Boughner said, although being back for next Tuesday’s game at home with the Red Wings could be a better possibility. Middleton, though, was placed on injured reserve Thursday afternoon and will be out of the lineup for at least the next two games.
Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic drew back into the lineup after he was scratched Tuesday. Boughner also inserted Ryan Merkley, the Sharks’ 2018 first-round draft pick who was a part of the team’s taxi squad to start the road trip. He was paired with Jaycob Megna.
Mario Ferraro returned Thursday from the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol after he missed the previous three games, and will again be paired with Brent Burns. Captain Logan Couture and fellow center Lane Pederson remain in the league’s protocol and are not expected back into the lineup until next week.
Source: www.mercurynews.com