Pittsburgh, Pa. (WGR 550) – If the Buffalo Sabres want to win the back end of their home-and-home weekend with the Pittsburgh Penguins, they’ll have to play similar to the way they did Friday, but stay out of the penalty box.
The Sabres dominated much of the play on Friday, but ran into a red-hot goalie in Tristan Jarry.
Buffalo came out fast in the first period, creating numerous good scoring chances, but Jarry stopped every single one of them except when Victor Olofsson hit the post.
Buffalo had an epic penalty kill in that period, where they had two players that had lost their sticks. Three different players blocked shots, and Craig Anderson made a huge save just as the penalty was ending.
The problem came because Buffalo handed Pittsburgh five power plays, including one in overtime that did them in.
Just as regulation time was running out, Anderson covered a puck and Penguins forward Jake Guentzel slashed his glove well after the puck was covered. Jeff Skinner immediately stood up for his teammate, and the two exchanged slashes at each other.
Skinner then cross-checked Guentzel across the shoulder, and after more pushing, he then cross-checked Guentzel in the face and received a five-minute match penalty.
I have zero problem with Skinner defending a teammate, but drop the gloves. There’s no need to cross-check Guentzel in the face, costing your team a point.
There were only 21 seconds left in regulation, so Pittsburgh was getting the man advantage for pretty much the full overtime. It only took 1:36 into the overtime period for Jeff Carter to find himself all alone in front, and the Pens won, 4-3.
Guentzel opened the scoring in the second period with a power play goal. Pittsburgh produced 12 shots on the power play.
There were so many good things that came out of that game, a loss ruins a lot of it.
Anderson made numerous big saves at big times to keep his team up. Unfortunately, Brock McGinn’s one-timer from a sharp angle found the net in the third period, but Anderson’s teammates picked him up.
Late in the third, Buffalo was on the power play and head coach Don Granato pulled Anderson. Kyle Okposo came from the bench, took a pass from Jack Quinn down the slot and at 18:30, the game was tied again.
Victor Olofsson and Casey Mittelstadt had their best games of the season. With Tyson Jost centering, the line was tenacious on the forecheck, and produced many scoring chances. Mittelstadt had three assists, Olofsson had a goal and Jost had an assist.
As good as Anderson was, Granato doesn’t play him back-to-back. I expect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to be in goal on Saturday. He’s 3-2-1 this season with a 3.98 goals-against average and an .859 save percentage.
The Sabres have never been able to handle Sidney Crosby, but in two games this season, the Penguins captain has been held without a point. Evgeni Malkin has continued his mastery over the Sabres, though, with four points in the two games.
Join Brian Koziol for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. EST when he’ll be joined by Granato and a couple of players.
