Sabres use second-period surge to defeat Sharks

JJ Peterka, Jeff Skinner and Jack Quinn each had a second-period goal to help the Buffalo Sabres rally for a 6-3 win over the visiting San Jose Sharks on Sunday.

Quinn finished with two goals and Tage Thompson had a goal and an assist, while Alex Tuch also scored for Buffalo. Dylan Cozens had three assists, Rasmus Dahlin had two and Skinner also had one for the Sabres, who won for the second time in their past three games.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 26 saves for Buffalo, which outshot San Jose 38-29.

Nick Bonino, Kevin Labanc and Oskar Lindblom scored, and Aaron Dell made 32 saves for the Sharks, who lost for the eighth time in their past 10 games (2-7-1).

Trailing 2-1 after the first period, Buffalo took control of the game in the first 4:21 of the second.

Cozens fired a perfectly placed pass to Peterka streaking down the left wing for a breakaway. Peterka wristed a shot off Dell's glove and into the back of the net just 16 seconds into the period.

Skinner gave the Sabres a 3-2 lead they wouldn't relinquish when he took a pass from Henri Jokiharju and swept across the goalmouth before roofing a shot over a sprawling Dell at the 4:21 mark.

Quinn's power-play goal off assists from Victor Olofsson and Dahlin made it 4-2 with 6:15 left in the second period.

Quinn scored his second goal off an assist from Cozens at the 11:23 mark of the third period before Lindblom found the back of net for San Jose just 29 seconds later to make it 5-3.

Tuch's empty-net goal capped the scoring with 3:23 left.

After Thompson's power-play goal off assists from Dahlin and Cozens gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at the 9:19 mark of the first period, the Sharks countered quickly.

Luke Kunin slid a centering pass to Bonino, who wristed a shot past Luukkonen for his first goal of the season with 6:20 left in the opening period.

The Sharks converted a power play to take a 2-1 lead. Matt Nieto controlled a loose puck along the board and slid toward the point, where Matt Benning zipped a cross-ice pass to Labanc, who wristed a shot into the back of net with 3:41 left in the period.

--Field Level Media

1/3: Dec 4, 2022; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson (72) celebrates his gaol with teammates during the first period against the San Jose Sharks at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

2/3: Dec 4, 2022; Buffalo, New York, USA; San Jose Sharks left wing Matt Nieto (83) waits for the face-off during the first period against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

3/3: Dec 4, 2022; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres defenseman Jacob Bryson (78) checks San Jose Sharks center Luke Kunin (11) as they go after a loose puck behind the net during the first period at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports