Despite another strong effort from Robin Lehner in back-to-back contests, the Sabres faltered late, losing 3-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins at Key Bank Center. As we’ve seen on numerous occasions this season, the Sabres simply failed to capitalize on established in-game momentum, and fell apart against a superior opponent. On top of lackluster play in the second half of the contest, the officiating crew was suspect at best, calling just one minor penalty against Pittsburgh in the game.
Rasmus Ristolainen received a five minute penalty and a game misconduct early on in the first period after delivering a crushing hit high against Jake Guentzel. Guentzel left the ice and did not return to the contest. Zach Bogosian served admirably in relief of the Sabres’ top minute eater, registering over 33 minutes of ice time. Youngster Brady Austin had to pick up a great deal of slack as well with 19 minutes played in just his second taste of NHL action.
Despite spending five minutes on the power-play as a result, the Penguins only registered two shots on goal, and failed to capitalize on the major penalty. In a shot-heavy period (13 shots per team), both Lehner and Matt Murray held strong in their respective nets until Sidney Crosby scored his 41st of the season with just nine seconds remaining in the opening frame. Crosby split three Sabres players and flipped an incredible one handed shot over Lehner’s shoulder to open the scoring.
Pittsburgh carried that momentum through the second period where they doubled up the Sabres in shots, 12-6. No goals were scored in the middle frame, and the penalty boxes stayed empty. Robin Lehner was forced to stand on his head multiple times in order to keep his squad within a goal heading into the third.
The Sabres turned on the gas in the third period, establishing sustained pressure in the Penguins’ zone. Just two minutes into the period, Sam Reinhart tied the contest at one, on an excellent second effort goal. Reinhart skated in on Murray’s left side and pushed his own rebound past the Penguins’ netminder. Hudson Fasching earned his first point of the season at the NHL level with the primary assist on the play.
With Just over five minutes remaining in regulation, Nick Bonino took advantage of traffic in front of the Sabres net, sniping a wrist shot past Lehner. A turnover in the Sabres’ end led to a point-blank opportunity for Bonino to notch his 15th goal of the season. Less than two minutes later, Lehner made the primary save one a net-crashing effort by up-and-comer Connor Sheary, but the rebound was mishandled by Zemgus Grigensons, who put the puck into his own net, increasing the Sabres’ deficit to two with under four minutes remaining. Sheary was credited with his 21st goal of the season.
The Sabres looked like a team on the back half of a back-to-back. They were able to hang with the Pittsburgh powerhouse early, but simply could not keep up for the last thirty minutes. Were it not for a stellar performance by Lehner, the game could have gotten out of hand much earlier than it did.
The Sabres will take on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday at Key Bank Center. Puck drop is at 7:00PM.