The Buffalo Sabres are in Pittsburgh taking on the Penguins inside PPG Paints Arena. It is the blue and gold's penultimate game of the 2020-21 season.
Buffalo got the scoring started just 2:45 into the game. Entering the zone on an odd-man rush with Jeff Skinner, Drake Caggiula opted to keep the puck himself and wired his first goal in a Sabres sweater past the short-side of Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry.
Pittsburgh tied things up at the halfway point of the first period. Veteran deadline acquisition Jeff Carter's shot was initially ruled no-goal, but the play was eventually reviewed by the league office in Toronto. They deemed it a goal after it was seen the puck did fully eclipse the goal line.
Less than two minutes later, Carter doubled up on a powerplay. His 14th goal of the season and second of the opening frame came with Arttu Ruotsalainen in the penalty box for tripping.
In the second, the Sabres potted another early-period goal to knot the score at two. Tage Thompson accepted a slick cross-ice pass from Casey Mittelstadt that Thompson deposited behind Jarry for his eighth goal of the year.
The game only remained tied for 1:04 before Carter completed his hat-trick against Houser and the Sabres, making the score 3-2 Pittsburgh.
Not a minute went by, though, before Caggiula responded for Buffalo. Just 37 seconds later, in fact, Caggiula's second of the evening once again knotted the score; this time 3-3.
The back-and-forth jockeying for the lead would end there in the middle stanza, as the Penguins scored consecutive goals about a minute apart later in the period to extend their edge to 5-3. Defenseman Brian Dumoulin and forward Jared McCann did the scoring, respectively.
In total, Buffalo and Pittsburgh combined for five goal in a span of less than four minutes (3:53) in the second period.
In the third period, the string of Penguins goals reached three in a row when Carter scored his fourth of the night as the veteran continued to terrorize Houser and the Sabres.
The fourth-straight Pittsburgh goal came with 13:35 to play in the game, when the score ballooned to 7-3 after Sidney Crosby re-directed defenseman Kris Letang's shot in past Houser.
Buffalo finally broke up the scoring party with 9:45 to go in the contest, as Skinner broke his goalless drought by netting his seventh of the season on a powerplay.
Unfortunately for the Sabres, the Penguins got right back to business 3:20 later when Kasperi Kapanen got in on the fun. His wrist-shot beat Houser for the forward's 11th goal of the season.
Check back throughout the night for updates.
Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.)
2.)
3.)
What's Next:
The season wraps up on Saturday, May 8 against these same Penguins in Pittsburgh. Puck drop inside PPG Paints Arena is set for 3 p.m. EST, and the Paul William Beltz Pregame Show with Brian Koziol starts at 2 p.m. EST on the radio home of the Buffalo Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.
