The road-weary San Jose Sharks are in the final stretch of the team’s longest road trip of the season, but at least the players will enter Buffalo with a spring in their step. The Sharks’ come from behind victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs last night should give the players a little adrenaline boost as they try to complete game two in just over 24 hours. Luckily for the Sharks, the Buffalo Sabres are in the same boat.
The Sabres played last night as well, losing 4-3 in overtime in Montreal. Both teams traveled last night, with the Sabres traveling a little farther than the Sharks. In other words, both teams will start on close to equal footing for this game.
Before we get to the opponent, it’s time to address some trade rumors. According to San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng, Vitek Vanecek will back up Alexandar Georgiev tonight. It’s strange since Georgiev played last night, but it sounds like Vanecek is being held back due to trade purposes. Carl Grundstrom is also out, though it does not sound like it’s for a trade.
The Sabres have played three games without leading power play scorer Jason Zucker, who is currently dealing with a lower-body injury. That’s a good sign for the Sharks, who allowed Toronto to score two power play goals last night.
Even without Zucker, the Sabres have some top scorers. Tage Thompson has 52 points in 53 games. Rasmus Dahlin, a defenseman, has 48 points. Thompson also leads the team with 29 goals. Sharks fans should watch out for the noted thorn in the Sharks’ side Alex Tuch, who has 47 points in 59 games, including 23 goals.
San Jose’s record against the Sabres is dismal, especially in Buffalo. The Sharks have a 3-23-1 record when playing the Sabres in New York. Not that the home performance is much better. The last time these two teams played was on Nov. 24 in San Jose. The Sharks lost 4-2 on Joe Thornton’s jersey retirement night.
San Jose Sharks lines tonight
Jimmy Schuldt was called up in place of Henry Thrun, who was put on the IR list, but Schuldt doesn’t appear to make the lineup today. According to Peng, this is what the lines are expected to look like tonight.
Forwards
William Eklund – Macklin Celebrini – Tyler Toffoli
Fabian Zetterlund – Alex Wennberg – Will Smith
Luke Kunin – Ty Dellandrea – Barclay Goodrow
Collin Graf – Nico Sturm – Klim Kostin
Defense
Jake Walman – Timothy Liljegren
Mario Ferraro – Shakir Mukhamadullin
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Jack Thompson
Goaltenders
Alexandar Georgiev
Vitek Vanecek
Buffalo Sabres lines vs. San Jose Sharks
Since James Reimer started last night in Montreal, it looks like the Sharks will face Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen tonight. Here’s the Sabres projected lineup courtesy of NHL.com.
Forwards
JJ Peterka — Jiri Kulich — Tage Thompson
Jordan Greenway — Dylan Cozens — Alex Tuch
Zach Benson — Ryan McLeod — Jack Quinn
Beck Malenstyn — Peyton Krebs — Sam Lafferty
Defense
Bowen Byram — Rasmus Dahlin
Mattias Samuelsson — Owen Power
Jacob Bryson — Connor Clifton
Goaltenders
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
James Reimer
How to watch San Jose Sharks at Buffalo Sabres March 4, 2025
Sharks fans can watch the game on NBC Sports California or listen on the Sharks Audio Network.
Sabres fans can see the game on MSG-B.
The puck drops at 4 p.m. PT, 7 p.m. ET at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.
