Sabres lose preseason finale to Penguins

Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR) - The Buffalo Sabres finished the 2026 preseason with a 3-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday afternoon at KeyBank Center.

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby converted on just the second shot of the game for Pittsburgh to give the team a 1-0 lead in the first period. The goal came just after the Sabres' first power play chance of the game.

Crosby's goal was assisted by Tommy Novak and Declan Carlile.

Pittsburgh doubled its lead several minutes later on a goal by Ville Koivunen in front of the Buffalo net. As Bryan Rust attempted a wrap-around, the puck came to the top of the crease, where Koivunen flipped it over the let of Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

The Sabres out-shot Pittsburgh, 11-9, in the first period, but trailed by two goals after the opening 20 minutes. Both teams had one power play chance in the first period, but neither team was able to score on special teams.

The Penguins thought they, once again, used just their second shot of a period to score a goal. This time, Evgeni Malkin was able to find a loose puck in the crease and score, but after officials initially waved off the goal and later ruled it a good goal after discussion, the Sabres challenged for goaltender interference and were successful. Replay indicated that Luukkonen was interfered with just prior to the goal.

Early in the third period, Luukkonen was forced to come out of the game for the Sabres and did not return. That signaled for Colten Ellis to take over, once again, for an injured Buffalo netminder.

The Sabres were able to cut the deficit in half to 2-1 midway through the third period. With Malkin in the penalty box for hooking for Pittsburgh, Ryan McLeod used a give-and-go play with Owen Power to bury a one-time shot past goalie Arturs Silovs.

Noah Östlund also received credit with an assist on the power play goal for Buffalo.

Pittsburgh was able to score an empty-net goal to secure a two-goal victory, as forward Nick Robertson deposited a puck into a yawning Buffalo net after Rickard Rakell chased down a loose puck.

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SCORING RECAP

First Period:
BUF: NONE
PIT: 9:00 - Sidney Crosby (1) (Tommy Novak, Declan Carlile); 10:56 - Ville Koivunen (Hendrix Lapierre, Bryan Rust)

Second Period:
BUF: NONE
PIT: NONE

Third Period:
BUF: 11:30 - Ryan McLeod (1) PPG (Owen Power, Noah Ostlund)
PIT: 18:55 - Nick Robertson (2) ENG (Rickard Rakell, Trevor van Riemsdyk)

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STATS OF THE GAME:

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Three Stars of the Game:

1.) Ryan McLeod - BUF
2.) Sidney Crosby - PIT
3.) Ville Koivunen - PIT

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What's next:

The Sabres will cut down their roster to 23 players by 5 p.m. on Monday.

Then it's on to Columbus for the 2026-27 regular season opener against the Blue Jackets on Thursday. Faceoff from Nationwide Arena is slated for 7 p.m. on the radio home of the Sabres - WGR.