Buffalo holds off Sharks' comeback try

BUFFALO, N.Y. - There was no dramatic comeback this time.

Cody McCormick, Paul Gaustad and Thomas Vanek scored third-period goals to help put away the Sharks as the Sabres held on for a 6-3 victory Thursday, ending the Sharks' winning streak at two.

In their previous two games, the Sharks came back from a 4-1 deficit to beat the Flyers 5-4 in a shootout Wednesday, and from a 2-1 deficit to beat the Red Wings 5-2 on Monday. The win over Philadelphia was San Jose's first-ever three-goal, third-period comeback.

On Thursday, the Sabres took a 3-0 lead before the Sharks made it 3-2 on goals by Logan Couture and Marc-Edouard Vlasic in the final five minutes of the second period.

McCormick's goal 31 seconds into the third period steadied the Sabres. "Between periods, we were talking about staying with our game and not panicking," he said. "There wasn't any doubt that we could keep that lead, and we just brought that attitude into the third."

Douglas Murray cut the Sharks' deficit to 4-3 with 10:34 left by firing in a slap shot from the top of the left circle, but Gaustad iced it with an empty-net goal with 27 seconds to go. Vanek made it 6-3 with his second of the game, scored with 8.7 seconds remaining.

Gaustad had two goals and an assist, McCormick had a goal and two assists, and Ryan Miller made 26 saves for Buffalo, which has won four of six. The Sabres are 14-1 at home against the Sharks.

"We got six (goals) and we could have had more," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said.

Couture had a goal and assist for San Jose, which has won three straight only once this season. The rookie center has six goals and eight points in five games and leads the Sharks with 14 goals this season, one more than Dany Heatley.

"We didn't play well again, simple as that," Couture said. "We made too many mistakes in our own end and didn't generate enough offense."

This article appeared on page B - 3 of the San Francisco Chronicle