The first meeting between the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins went way of the Penguins, as Pittsburgh ran away from Buffalo by a final score of 5-2 inside KeyBank Center on Thursday night.
The Penguins opened the scoring six-and-a-half minutes into the first period, when the Sabres gave the puck away in the neutral zone. The turnover sprung PIttsburgh forwards Kasperi Kapanen and Evgeni Malkin the other way, and seconds later Kapanen fed Malkin for a 2-on-0 tap-in and the 1-0 lead.
Buffalo had an immediate answer, though, as not even 30 seconds went by before the game was tied again. Tage Thompson, who subbed into the lineup in place of Tobias Rieder, did the damage after some nifty work behind the Pittsburgh net.
The wraparound was Thompson's first goal of the season.
Things stayed tied until the early goings of the middle stanza, when Penguins forward Brandon Tanev snuck free on a partial breakaway. Tanev cruised down the right-wing boards towards goalie Jonas Johansson before cutting into the middle and scoring with a backhand.
Once again, the Sabres had an answer in keeping pace with the visitors. Just over five minutes later, forward Riley Sheahan found sniper Victor Olofsson creeping into the slot as the duo combined for a pretty cross-ice connection.
It was Olofsson's first goal since Feb. 23 at New Jersey.
The back-and-forth trend continued past the halfway point of the second period, when Pittsburgh seized the lead for the third time in the game. On a powerplay, forward Jake Guentzel caught Johansson far too deep in his net and snuck the Penguin's third goal of the night far-side past the netminder.
Less than three minutes into the third period, Pittsburgh was able to extend their lead to two goals when forward Anthony Angello scored his first goal of the season. The goal came just 16 seconds after a fight, when Colin Miller took on the Penguins' Zach-Aston Reese after the Pittsburgh forward clobbered Dylan Cozens hard into the boards some seconds after distributing a pass.
Cozens did not return to the game after the hit.
With the game well in hand, Pittsburgh put some icing on the cake with an empty-net goal from forward Bryan Rust.
Buffalo's losing streak hit nine with the 5-2 defeat.
GAME SUMMARY
Goal Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 6:54 - Tage Thompson (1) (Kyle Okposo, Cody Eakin)
PIT: 6:27 - Evgeni Malkin (7) (Kasperi Kapanen)
Second Period:
BUF: 8:46 - Victor Olofsson (8) (Riley Sheahan, Eric Staal)
PIT: 3:24 - Brandon Tanev (6) (Teddy Blueger); 11:36 - Jake Guentzel (9) (Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin)
Third Period:
BUF: NONE
PIT: 2:43 - Anthony Angello (1) (Unassisted); 18:45 - Bryan Rust (9) ENG (Tristan Jarry)
Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 1:41 - Matt Irwin (Interference - 2 min.)
PIT: 15:33 - Mike Matheson (Tripping - 2 min.)
Second Period:
BUF: 10:32 - Jacob Bryson (Hooking - 2 min.)
PIT: NONE
Third Period:
BUF: 2:27 - Colin Miller (Fighting - 5 min.); 18:45 - Taylor Hall (Misconduct - 10 min.)
PIT: 2:27 - Zach Aston-Reese (Fighting - 5 min.); 10:28 - Marcus Pettersson (Hooking - 2 min.)
Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Evgeni Malkin - PIT
2.) Jake Guentzel - PIT
3.) Brandon Tanev - PIT
What's Next:
These two teams square off again on Saturday night in Buffalo. Puck drop inside KeyBank Center is set for 7 p.m. EST, and the Paul William Beltz Pregame Show with Brian Koziol starts at 6 p.m. on the radio home of the Buffalo Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.