At the Horn | Sabres 7 - Penguins 3

JJ Peterka’s hat trick powered the Buffalo Sabres to a 7-3 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins in their preseason opener at KeyBank Center on Saturday.

The Sabres scored seven straight goals after falling behind 1:08 into the contest, including five in a span of 5:26 during the second period.

Henri Jokiharju (1+2), Dylan Cozens (1+1) and Owen Power (1+1) also had multi-point games for the Sabres. Sam Lafferty also added a goal.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen played the full game for Buffalo and stopped 15 of 18 shots.

Period 1

The Sabres and Penguins traded power-play goals within the first four minutes of the contest, beginning when Tage Thompson was called for tripping 28 seconds into the game. Pittsburgh scored on a deflection by Jesse Puljujarvi 40 seconds later.

Buffalo received a power play of its own less than three minutes later when Beck Malenstyn drew a double-minor for high-sticking. Peterka scored his first of the night on the ensuing power play, deflecting a shot taken by Jack Quinn from the point.

The Sabres held a 17-7 edge in shots at the end of the period.

Period 2

A tied game between Buffalo and Pittsburgh was flipped on its head with an outburst of five goals by the Sabres in the first five and a half minutes.

Peterka started the run with his second goal of the night, scored 46 seconds into the period. Power scored next with a slap shot from the top of the blue line, then Jokiharju sent a shot through traffic to extend the lead to 4-1 exactly a minute later.

Lafferty added the next goal, capitalizing on a rebound created on the rush by linemate and fellow offseason acquisition Beck Malenstyn. Peterka deflected a Tage Thompson shot to complete his hat trick and extend the lead to 6-1.

Period 3

Cozens extended the Sabres’ lead with 16:18 left in the game, sending a one-timer from the right circle after linemates Zach Benson and Jack Quinn combined to force a turnover on the forecheck.

Puljujarvi netted two more for goals the Penguins in a 19-second span to complete his own hat trick.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

POSTGAME COMMENTS

GAME PHOTOS

UP NEXT

Buffalo plays their second straight home game of the preseason on Monday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The game will be streamed live on Sabres.com with puck drop scheduled for 5 p.m. Radio coverage will be on WWKB 1520AM.