Pregame
It’s a good day for Tristan’s: Tristan Broz makes his NHL debut, bringing Ben Kindel (developmental healthy scratch, talk about an oxymoron) out. Tristan Jarry is back from the IR and starting in goal.
The visiting Buffalo Sabres are bringing the following lineup to the action:
First period
Very low event and sleepy type of first period with barely any shots. Conor Timmins doesn’t even touch Sidney Crosby
who spins around and somehow the refs call a penalty. The Penguins can’t score on the power play.
Matt Dumba spoils a 2-on-1 with Crosby by flubbing a rolling puck, but later on Dumba makes up for it by scoring his first goal with the Pens. The Buffalo defender can’t quite defend the shot and the result flutters up and into the net. 1-0 Pittsburgh.
That’s it for a quiet first, 4-3 PIT are the shots, 1-0 is the score.
Second period
The second goes back and forth. No penalties, no goals.
Third period
The Sabres get so much going early on. They catch the Penguins’ lower line players for an extended shift and then Pittsburgh ices the puck. Buffalo finally gets on the board, Jack Quinn with his sixth of the season, 1-1.
That goal serves to wake up the Penguins, they get their top line out there and good things happen. Bryan Rust is all over the puck, eventually he swings around and flings a puck low and in. 2-1 game.
Kevin Hayes gets on the board for the first time of the year, assist to Erik Karlsson with the strong centering pass. Important insurance goal there to make it 3-1.
The Sabres don’t go away, Jason Zucker passes from behind the net to find Quinn in front and he quickly shoots and puts it in. 3-2 with 4:18 to go, the Pens have a sweat going.
The Pens hold on, Buffalo eventually pulls the goalie and Danton Heinen steps up to make a great play over to Connor Dewar for the easy goal to put it away. 4-2.
Some thoughts
- Odd game, this one. Matt Dumba was probably the most impactful and noticeable player for the first period and a half or so, which tells you this was going to be a wild one. Luckily he made a mark and stepped up.
- Only one penalty too, and even that penalty was a nonsense one to ring Timmins up for “tripping” Crosby, even though he didn’t trip Crosby one bit. Go figure.
- To bring it one step further, the Bob Grove stat of the day shows that only 36 faceoffs was a Pittsburgh low since 1997. A lot of skating down to one end, break it up, go back the other way, rinse and repeat.
- Crosby and Malkin not getting much going against the Sabres, also strange.
- Tristan Jarry was back from the IR and in a major way. 29 saves on 31 shots, and we sold him short above to not mention how Jarry preserved the win in the third period with huge, huge saves. He’s been good, very impressive to comeback for the first game in 24 days and be so sharp.
- It was nice to see some ol’ vets in Dumba and Hayes light the lamp. Their main purpose was bringing on draft picks to run out the string for their contracts and on this night they helped win the game.
- Great time for Rust to break a five-game pointless streak. There’s been some big gaps in games but tonight was his first goal since November 6th. Can’t have a player like Rust scoring two goals in a month at a time like this with Rickard Rakell also out.
One day off for Thanksgiving and then the Pens are in Columbus on Friday night.
