Dustin Tokarski made 37 saves for the Buffalo Sabres, but the Pittsburgh Penguins were able to take advantage of early offense for a 5-2 win on Wednesday night at PPG Paints Arena.
Evan Rodrigues broke the scoreless tie over seven minutes into the first period. The ex-Sabres forward collected his third goal of the season against his former team, which made it 1-0 Pittsburgh. Sam Lafferty and Mark Jankowski were credited with assists on the game's first goal.
The Sabres' deficit doubled with just over four minutes remaining in the opening stanza. Kris Letang was able to move in from the blue line and receive a pass in the slot that he was able to convert for his sixth goal of the season. Sidney Crosby made the pass that setup the goal, the Penguins captain received an assist, along with Bryan Rust.
A clean face-off draw win in the offensive zone resulted in the Sabres' first goal of the game to cut their deficit to 2-1 late in the first. Eric Staal won the draw for Buffalo, with the puck eventually finding its way to Rasmus Dahlin. The defenseman's shot from the blue line beat Tristan Jarry for his second goal of the season. Taylor Hall and Brandon Montour assisted on the goal.
The Sabres went to the power play for the first time late in the second period when John Marino was called for hooking. Buffalo's opportunity was short lived when Dahlin was penalized for tripping on a play in the defensive zone.
Pittsburgh appeared to extend the lead back to two goals late in the middle period. However, the puck was hit by an errant high stick by a Penguins' player and then touched by a teammate before scoring. The goal was immeidately waived off and kept the score 2-1 in favor of the home team.
Marino was able to notch his second goal of the season to give Pittsburgh a 3-1 lead. Then, with less than a minute to go in the period, Zach Aston-Reese scored a short handed goal that ballooned the lead to 4-1 over Buffalo. Aston-Reese also assisted on the third goal of the game for Pittsburgh for a two-point night.
Crosby used a breakaway opportunity to build a 5-1 lead for Pittsburgh early in the third period. Jake Guentzel was credited with the lone assist on the Penguins captain's 13th goal of the season.
Victor Olofsson was credited with a penalty shot opportunity when he was hooked on a breakaway. The forward was able to beat Jarry with the opportunity and cut the Penguins lead to three, 5-2.
In the end, Buffalo was outshot 42-28 on the night, and the score reflected it with the final being 5-2.
----------
GAME SUMMARY
Goal Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 17:17 - Rasmus Dahlin (2) (Brandon Montour, Taylor Hall)
PIT: 7:36 - Evan Rodrigues (3) (Sam Lafferty, Mark Jankowski); 15:44 - Kris Letang (6) (Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust)
Second Period:
BUF: NONE
PIT: 17:29 - John Marino (2) (Jared McCann, Zach Aston-Reese); 19:36 - Zach Aston-Reese (7) SHG (Frederick Gaudreau)
Third Period:
BUF: 14:35 - Victor Olofsson (9) PENALTY SHOT
PIT: 3:57 - Sidney Crosby (13) (Jake Guentzel)
----------
Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 19:35 - Rasmus Ristolainen (Cross-checking - 2 min.)
PIT: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: 5:41 - Rasmus Ristolainen (Interference - 2 min.); 14:31 - Rasmus Dahlin (Tripping - 2 min.)
PIT: 13:55 - John Marino (Hooking - 2 min.); 19:04 - Mark Jankowski (Interference - 2 min.)
Third Period:
BUF: 2:19 - Jacob Bryson (Hooking - 2 min.); 18:30 - Eric Staal (Cross-checking - 2 min.)
PIT: 3:17 - Kris Letang (Hooking - 2 min.)
----------
----------
Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Sidney Crosby - PIT
2.) Zach Aston-Reese - PIT
3.) Frederick Gaudreau - PIT
----------
What's Next
The Sabres and Penguins will meet again on Thursday night in Pittsburgh. The puck drops just after 7 p.m. ET on the flagship home of the Sabres Radio Network - WGR Sports Radio 550. The Paul William Beltz Pregame Shows starts our coverage with Mike Schopp and the Bulldog at 6 p.m. ET.
