Colten Ellis makes 23 saves as Buffalo Sabres blank San Jose Sharks 2-0 to end skid

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

Colten Ellis made 23 saves as the Buffalo Sabres ended a three-game skid with a 2-0 win over the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Tuesday. The shutout was Ellis’s first of the season and second in the NHL, providing Buffalo with a clean defensive result after a stretch in which the club went 0-1-2 during the skid and lost six of its previous eight games.

Buffalo opened the scoring just 50 seconds into the second period when Olen Zellweger found the back of the net. Zellweger generated the goal by racing into the offensive zone on the left wing and wiring a wrist shot from the top of the left face-off circle past Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov.

Zach Benson then sealed the outcome with an empty-net goal at 19:05 of the third period for the 2-0 final. Askarov made 38 saves for San Jose in the loss as the Sharks were held scoreless after dropping consecutive games.

For Buffalo, the victory improved the team’s record to 5-4-3. Tage Thompson recorded an assist in his 500th career game with the Sabres, marking a milestone during the win.

The game also featured a familiar connection on the Sharks roster. San Jose defenseman Michael Kesselring played his first game against his former team and finished with three shots on goal in 16:25 of ice time. Buffalo acquired Kesselring from the Sabres on June 17, along with a first-round pick (No. 27) of the 2026 NHL Draft, in exchange for the No. 20 selection in that draft.

With San Jose’s loss, the Sharks finished the night with a 6-6-1 record and have now lost two straight. Buffalo’s shutout win gave the Sabres a decisive reset after their recent run of results and moved their season standing forward in a tightly contested early schedule.