Sabres close out back-to-back set with loss to Penguins

PITTSBURGH – Sabres captain Kyle Okposo and alternate captain Rasmus Dahlin each shared similar thoughts following the team’s 4-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday inside PPG Paints Arena. Both players felt that the group needed to simplify its game in order to play to its true identity.

Buffalo was held off the scoresheet—but not due to a lack of trying—as the Sabres put together a 35-shot performance in Pittsburgh, including a team-best five shots from Jeff Skinner and four shots each from Dylan Cozens, Zemgus Girgensons, and JJ Peterka.

Despite their offensive chances, the Sabres were unable to get anything by Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry, who stopped all 35 shots to give Buffalo its first shutout loss of the season.

“I feel like we had a lot of chances to score tonight, [but] didn’t. It’s just kind of one of those things when you’ve got to find a way to get one by him—by Jarry. You know, he played really well, and I think that they did a pretty good job clearing second opportunities,” Okposo said. “But yeah, we obviously didn’t do enough to score tonight.”

Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 14 saves in the first, including several key stops on the rush early in the game, but Evgeni Malkin’s tally late in the period gave Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead.  

Malkin backhanded the puck toward the crease from the corner and it bounced off Luukkonen’s back and into the net for the Penguins’ first goal of the game with 59 seconds to go in the opening period.

They struck again with 3:36 remaining in the second when Lars Eller fed Drew O’Connor, who snuck the puck under Luukkonen’s arm while on the rush.

“I thought Ukko was really good despite the first goal. Obviously, I’m sure he wishes he had that one back. Second one shot through a stick. He was dialed in,” Sabres coach Don Granato said. “We had opportunities that we didn’t convert. You don’t convert, you don’t win. Upie’s game was good enough.”

Luukkonen finished with 36 saves as the Sabres struggled to generate second-chance opportunities and a strong net-front presence in the opposite end. 

Following the game, Granato echoed the thoughts of his captain and alternate captain.

“Simplifying. It’s easy to say. A little more challenging to execute that,” Granato said. “I thought we could have executed things a little bit more simple, more direct and when a puck is getting to the net, get there, get more traffic there. Anticipate that and read that. There were moments we did, but not consistently enough. You don’t score, you don’t win.”

Erik Karlsson added a power-play goal 27 seconds into the third before capping off the Pittsburgh shutout with an empty netter with 1:49 remaining.

“We used our skill to create stuff but we didn’t get the rebounds, we didn’t get the net front, we didn’t get the gritty stuff,” Dahlin said. “So, our skill was there, not our work.”

Here are more notes from Saturday’s loss.

1. The Sabres dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen as Mattias Samuelsson was activated from injured reserve and Matt Savoie was assigned to the Wenatchee Wild of the WHL prior to the game.

Alex Tuch, who missed Friday’s game against the Minnesota Wild, did not make the trip to Pittsburgh and remains day to day with an upper-body injury. Peyton Krebs and Jacob Bryson were the other two scratches.

2. Okposo played in his 999th NHL game and is set to suit up for his 1000th career game at home versus the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.

Stay tuned for more details on the night.

Up next

The Sabres host the Bruins on Tuesday at KeyBank Center before embarking on a three-game road trip Friday.

Tickets are available here. 

Coverage on MSG/MSG+ begins at 6:30 p.m. while faceoff is scheduled for 7 on MSG and WGR 550.