Postgame Report

A rough second period, with six penalty minutes and three goals allowed, sank the Buffalo Sabres as they lost 5-2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday at KeyBank Center.

Buffalo began the middle frame with a 1-0 lead, but Rasmus Dahlin’s opening-shift high-sticking minor opened the door for Rickard Rakell’s power-play goal at the 1:41 mark. And 27 seconds later, Anthony Beauvillier received Cody Glass’ stretch pass and gave Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead on the breakaway.

Midway through the second, Sabres defenseman Henri Jokiharju went to the box for tripping Evgeni Malkin. Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic denied Zach Benson’s attempt on a shorthanded 2-on-1 rush, and shortly after, Glass extended Pittsburgh’s lead with another power-play tally.

“Could have been 2-2, they turn around and go the other way and make it 3-1,” said Sabres coach Lindy Ruff.

Lindy Ruff speaks to the media

A Tage Thompson interference call in the final moments of the second – Pittsburgh’s Ryan Graves went down after light contact at the blue line – led to Bryan Rust’s power-play goal 1:09 into the third. The Sabres had their sights set on an odd-man rush, but Matt Grzelcyk’s cross-ice pass found Rust alone at the left circle.

“We probably needed a save there, and we’re inches away from turning that one into a 2-on-1,” Ruff said.

Three power-play goals against were Buffalo’s most in a game since Dec. 17 in Montreal; the Sabres had killed 84 percent of shorthanded situations in their previous 12 games before Friday.

“We talked about it going into tonight, they’re a team that thrives off the power play,” said Thompson. “We wanted to stay disciplined, and I think some of the calls were a little iffy, but can’t control that. Obviously, you’ve got to find a way and kill those penalties off.”

“They took advantage of our mistakes on the PK,” Ruff said.

After its big night, the Penguins power play ranks fourth in the NHL with a 27-percent success rate.

Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 14 of 18 shots.

Here’s more from the loss.

1. Buffalo took a first-period lead for a fifth straight game. At 15:15, in the back half of a Malkin double-minor for high sticking, Sabres defenseman Owen Power held the puck, stepped up and beat Nedeljkovic glove side.

Owen Power scores on the power play

The Sabres couldn’t capitalize on their other man-up opportunities, though, and finished the night 1-for-5 on the power play.

“Obviously it’s nice anytime you can get one, but we had opportunities later in the game and we just weren’t good enough on the power play,” Power said.

“You look at what their power play did tonight – if we’re not able to match it, it’s tough to win.”

Owen Power addresses the media

2. A lack of shot volume has plagued the Sabres of late, but not on Friday, as they outshot Pittsburgh 42-19. In addition to its season-high shot total, Buffalo led 82-47 in shot attempts and 12-5 in high-danger scoring chances, per Natural Stat Trick.

“We had a ton of great looks, had plenty of opportunities to capitalize on our chances and make it a different kind of game,” said Thompson, who recorded a game-high seven shots on net.

“I thought for the most part we dominated, but you’ve got to find a way to come away with two points,” Benson said.

Zach Benson addresses the media

Buffalo’s opportunities included a first-period breakaway for JJ Peterka, the 2-on-1 chance for Benson and another for Thompson, and more.

“The odd-numbered rushes and the breakaways … you only get so many of those and tonight was a night where we probably had 10 to 15, and you end up scoring one goal 5-on-5,” Ruff said.

That even-strength goal came from Benson with five minutes remaining in the game. Having also assisted on Power’s goal, Benson logged his third multi-point game of the season.

Zach Benson scores 3rd period goal

Trailing 4-2 after that tally, Buffalo pulled Luukkonen and continued to push before Nedeljkovic capped off his 40-save night with an empty-net goalie goal from the trapezoid.

“I’ll give their goalie credit, he made some good saves, but I thought we made him look too good,” Ruff said.

Tage Thompson addresses the media

FINAL | Penguins 5 - Sabres 2

Up next

The Sabres head west for a four-game road trip, which begins Monday at Seattle.

Coverage on MSG begins at 3:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 4.