Buffalo scores twice with the goalie pulled, but fall 5-4 to the Penguins.
PITTSBURGH, PA. — Five Pittsburgh Penguins scored in a 5-4 win against the Buffalo Sabres at PPG Paints Arena.
Jake Guentzel had a goal and two assists, Conor Sheary had three assists, and Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel and Evgeni Malkin each had a goal and an assist.
Defenseman Justin Schultz scored on the power play with one minute left in the second period to put Pittsburgh ahead 3-2. Kessel (6:21) and Malkin (7:00) scored in the third period to give the Penguins a 5-2 lead before Jacob Josefson (19:18) and Evander Kane (19:40) scored in the final minute to make it 5-4.
Victor Antipin and Nicolas Deslauriers scored for Buffalo.
Antti Niemi made 38 saves for the Penguins, and Chad Johnson made 22 for the Sabres.
Deslauriers trying to prove self
Nicolas Deslauriers already has been treating every preseason game as an opportunity to prove he belongs in the Sabres lineup on a regular basis. With the acquisition of Jordan Nolan off of waivers from Los Angeles on Wednesday, the competition just got tighter. He scored the Sabres second goal against Pittsburgh that tied the game 2-2 at the time.
Nolan (28, 6-foot-3, 219 lbs.) joins the Sabres after appearing in 292 NHL games for Los Angeles during the last six seasons. The Garden River, First Nations, Ontario native was a member of the Kings’ Stanley Cup-winning teams in 2012 and 2014.
“I missed so much time last year from an injury and after, just being a healthy scratch, it was probably one of the worst feelings I’ve had,” Deslauriers said.
Deslauriers played in 42 games last season, his lowest mark since his rookie season of 2013-14, and was held to no goals and only two assists. His average ice time of 7:25 was a career low.
“I think he’s had an excellent camp,” coach Phil Housley said prior to the game. “He’s gotten a lot of responsibilities in special teams areas, killing penalties, which he’s really done a good job of. He’s got to bring a physical aspect to the game, obviously that’s a big part of his role so we’re looking forward to seeing what he can do in the game tonight.”