To take with the sharks: what we learned during the 3-2 defeat in overtime against Sabers

The Sharks were of course not happy that they could not break the Sabers' winning streak when they visited Buffalo. The team then acknowledged that the game had positive points. Heck, recovering at the end of the third period had certainly made things interesting, especially since San Jose had not scored goals on the road in 183: 43 minutes.

Now, after falling 3-2 to the Sabers in overtime, the Sharks have identified the need not only to create good scoring opportunities, but also to track and capitalize on them.

"I thought it was likely that we did not capitalize early," Kane told Kane to the media after the defeat, before adding, "But it was a big one. effort to come back to tie the game and try it. "

Brent Burns was in agreement. "I think we had some chances," said the defender. "[Buffalo] just finished with another one. "

It's literally one more chance that made the difference in Tuesday's contest. San Jose and Buffalo played a close game for nearly 60 minutes. The Sabers were more effective in the second period and the Sharks responded at the end of the third. Buffalo followed San Jose to the shot clock, only 38-31 at the end of the match. The Sharks blocked seven shots on five of the Sabers and won 55% of the faceoffs of the night. The two goalies making big stops at their respective ends, neither team managed to escape with the match.

"It was felt that there was not much going on there for both sides," Burns said.

It was this opportunity created by Buffalo's Jeff Skinner in overtime that allowed the Sabers to win.

It's not that San Jose completely sidesteps his late-game push, or his carelessness, by applauding the back of the net after struggling to score before. Joe Pavelski, who scored the two markers of the third period of San Jose, certainly helped to give the Sharks a boost.

"There will obviously be times when goals are hard to reach," said San Jose goalkeeper Martin Jones. "So having a couple late in the game tonight and scoring a point tonight was huge."

So, how are the Sharks improving Tuesday's efforts?

"We have to do a little more work to get a little more traffic in front of the net," Kane said. "We had some good looks that we did not finish and it was unfortunate."

The Sharks will have an immediate opportunity to capitalize on more opportunities when they play again on Wednesday. Although the competition will be tough (the Toronto Maple Leafs face two players in the back), the Sharks already know what they want to do better to improve their game against the Sabers.