Five-Goal Second Period sees Sabres beat Penguins

Score: Sabres 7 | Penguins 3

Shots: BUF 30 | PIT 25

Buffalo Sabres Goals:

1. Thompson (Benson, Dahlin)
2. Krebs (Tuch, Clifton)
3. Kulich (Byram, Thompson)
4. Samuelsson (Rosen, Dahlin)
5. Kulich (Byram, Quinn)
6. Kozak (Malenstyn, Krebs)
7. Tuch (Power, Kozak)

Pittsburgh Penguins Goals:

1. Crosby (Rakell, Grzelcyk)
2. Lizotte (Unassisted)
3. Hayes (Timmins, Graves)

Plus 1: Crosby Makes History

There are few constants over the last 20 years. One of those is Sidney Crosby terrorizing the Buffalo Sabres. In 61 career games against buffalo, he has 30 goals, 56 assists for a grand total of 86 points. It’s only fitting that he would break a record against the Sabres. With his 26^th goal of the year, Crosby has clinched his 20^th point per game or better NHL season. This breaks the record previously held by Wayne Gretzky who had 19 such seasons. It cannot be understated how great Crosby has been since entering the league in 2005. He will billed as a generational talent and he certainly lived up to the hype. All you can do is sit back and appreciate his greatness. There are few like him in the history of the NHL.

Plus 2: Offensive Onslaught

The Sabres controlled this game from the opening faceoff. They wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as Thompson netted his 36^th goal of the year 27 seconds into the game. They followed this up with a remarkable 5-goal second period where the Penguin netminders struggled to keep the game respectable. In that second period, Kulich scored twice, Kozak had a goal and an assist, and Isak Rosen notched his first NHL point with a primary assist on Samuelsson’s goal. They were firing on all cylinders and put the game away well before the final buzzer.

Plus 3: Age is Just a Number

A surprising development in the last couple weeks has been the play of veteran goaltender James Reimer. He has started Buffalo’s last three games which have all been wins. He was solid again against Pittsburgh and made some great saves. He made a couple excellent saves against Kevin Hayes who was stopped on a breakaway and the resulting rebound attempt. Coach Lindy Ruff looks inclined to ride the hot goalie regardless of him being the oldest person on the roster at 37 years young. From Anderson to Reimer, the Sabres seem to get some quality starts out of goalies in the twilight of their career.

Final Thoughts

Buffalo’s second period put the Penguins away early. Their offense was unstoppable, and Reimer was foiling any Pittsburgh counterattack. Kulich looks to be fully back after missing some time with injury. Both his goals were excellent shots that beat the goalie clean. Kozak continues to show effectiveness on the 4^th line as he attempts to carve out a role with Buffalo. It’s encouraging to see the younger players have success down the stretch. Hopefully, that can lead to some momentum for their offseason training.