At the Horn: Sabres 4 - Sharks 3

SAN JOSE - The Sabres are coming home victorious.
Zemgus Girgensons scored the winning goal with 7:45 remaining in a back-and-forth third period as the Sabres earned a 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks to conclude their California road trip on Saturday at SAP Center.
Marcus Johansson (1+1) and Henri Jokiharju (0+2) tallied two points each. Casey Mittelstadt and Jeff Skinner also scored goals.

Linus Ullmark made 29 saves for the Sabres, who outshot the Sharks, 35-32.

What happened

Goals from Johansson and Mittelstadt gave the Sabres a 2-1 lead entering the third period. Things got interesting from there.
Tomas Hertl tipped a shot in off the body of Rasmus Ristolainen with the Sharks on a power play to tie the game, 2-2, just 44 seconds into the period.
Skinner tapped in a puck that rattled its way around the San Jose crease to reclaim the lead for the Sabres at the 2:28 mark. Twenty-two seconds later, Marcus Sorensen tipped a shot past Ullmark as he battled Mittelstadt skating across the crease.
The "Roaring Twenties" line of Girgensons, Johan Larsson, and Kyle Okposo connected to pot the winner. Okposo forced a turnover as the first man in on the rebound, Larsson took a shot off Sharks goalie Martin Jones, and Girgensons buried the rebound for his first goal of the season.

What it means

The Sabres take two out of three games on their California road trip and improve to 7-1-1 on the season.
Mittelstadt, meanwhile, has three goals and four points in his last two games. The second-year center scored twice during a three-point outing in Los Angeles on Thursday.

Roll the Highlight Film

We'll give the nod to Mittelstadt, who showed serious hand-eye coordination on his second-period goal.

Up next

The Sabres return home to host the Sharks on Tuesday. Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m., or you can listen live on WGR 550. The puck drops at 7.