‘We weren’t sharp’ | Unhappy with loss to Penguins, Sabres look ahead to after the break

The Buffalo Sabres wrapped up their pre-Olympic schedule on a sour note Thursday at KeyBank Center, losing 5-2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

With 70 points, the Sabres enter the three-week break in the first Eastern Conference wild card spot and five points ahead of Columbus and Washington, the first teams outside the playoff structure.

The team is 21-5-2 since Dec. 9 but lost three of four (1-2-1) before the break.

“We picked the wrong time to kind of pitch a dud,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “… Our passing definitely wasn’t crisp. I think you look at our power-play entries, they struggled. I think we missed the net on five of our first six real good opportunities, another sign that you’re not quite on your game.”

To his point, the Sabres missed the net 22 times, one of their highest totals in the season. They also had several quality scoring chances that didn’t result in shot attempts.

“A lot of missed nets, missed passes,” echoed forward Tage Thompson. “Obviously, looked like we were fighting it a little bit. I think when that happens, you’ve just got to simplify your game until you feel it, and then if you’re not feeling it, just keep it simple the whole game and wear them out. I thought we did the opposite and kind of fueled their offense.”

Jason Zucker got Buffalo on the board just 1:46 into the game, snapping one past goalie Arturs Silovs on the rush, but it was mostly Pittsburgh from there.

Penguins forward Avery Hayes, making his NHL debut, scored twice in the first period – first on a breakaway, then in the slot on a between-the-legs pass from Anthony Mantha. Ben Kindel extended Pittsburgh’s lead to 3-1 on an odd-man rush in the second period.

Defenseman Jacob Bryson was involved in those first and third goals – a lob pass over his head, a turnover at the blue line – and didn’t take another shift after the Kindel goal. This was Bryson’s first game back from an upper-body injury two weeks ago.

“That pair had a tough night. That was part of it,” Ruff said of Bryson and partner Michael Kesselring.

“We didn’t make [Pittsburgh] pay for some of their mistakes, but they made us pay on the big mistakes we made.”

Thompson scored his 30th goal of the season early in the third, a great short-side shot on the power play, but the Sabres couldn’t find the tying goal from there. Pittsburgh’s Tommy Novak scored with 4:27 remaining to restore the two-goal deficit. Buffalo’s power play went 1-for-5 on the night, although the group has scored in six consecutive games.

With 20 days until their next game, the Sabres are confident they’ll put this loss behind them, then return rested and ready to continue their late-season playoff push.

“I talked to the team after the game about this how incredibly tight it’s gonna be,” Ruff said. “You really can’t have games like we had. We weren’t sharp.”

Added goaltender Alex Lyon, who made 27 saves on 31 shots: “It’s going to put a bitter taste in my mouth, and I hope it puts a bitter taste in everybody’s mouths, because the last 25 games is going to be a dogfight all the way down to the wire. … We have to be prepared and use the break the right way and come back at the top of our game.”

Postgame sound

Up next

The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. Thompson’s and Rasmus Dahlin’s quests for a gold medal begin next Wednesday. Follow along here for the full schedule and those guys’ stats in Italy.

Buffalo’s next game is Feb. 25 at the New Jersey Devils. The next home game is March 3 versus the Vegas Golden Knights.