Observations: Sabres explode in second, get Peterka hat trick in rout of Penguins
Buffalo scored on its first three shots of the second period, four of its first five and five of its first seven. The Penguins had to give goaltending prospect Joel Blomquist a mercy pull with 14:34 left in the second period and the Sabres in a 6-1 lead.
We start with the reality check: These were the Baby Penguins on the other side Saturday night, as the visitors from Pittsburgh left all of their star power home and fielded a lineup of mostly AHL players who are going to spend the season in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
We counter that with a point that can also be true: The Buffalo Sabres played very well in their preseason opener, erupting for five goals in the first 5½ minutes of the second period and strolling to a 7-3 win over the pseudo Penguins before an announced crowd of 12,013 in KeyBank Center.
From left, Sabres wings Alex Tuch and JJ Peterka and center Tage Thompson celebrate a goal by Peterka to give him a hat trick during Saturday's preseason game
against the Pittsburgh Penguins at KeyBank Center. Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
JJ Peterka, now entrenched as the left winger on the top forward line, scored the team's first goal of the preseason on a first-period power play and added two more in the second to finish with a hat trick. Defenseman Henri Jokiharju also had a three-point night, with a goal and two assists.
The return of head coach Lindy Ruff behind the Buffalo bench, albeit in a preseason game, and the testing of the arena's new scoreboard were both a success.
Buffalo scored on its first three shots of the second period, four of its first five and five of its first seven. The goals came from Peterka (at 46 seconds), Owen Power, Jokiharju, Sam Lafferty and Peterka again. The Penguins had to give goaltending prospect Joel Blomqvist a mercy pull with 14:34 left in the second period and the Sabres in a 6-1 lead. Buffalo finished with a 43-18 advantage in shots on goal.
The Buffalo forward group showed depth through all four lines while the defense was active in the offensive zone and strong in its own end. The defense was more active than we've been used to seeing and the forwards did a good job covering for them when the need arose.
Malenstyn was the first of several players acquired by the Sabres to bring speed and physical play to a lineup that needed to evolve. He may also be the one they're most familiar with.
"It's a new game plan for us and it's fun to play that way," Jokiharju said. "So I think everybody's got to buy into that one and it feels good. Kept it out of our end pretty simple, go play offense and support each other. I think that's the big plan for the team here."
Goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen gave up a power-play goal on a tip by Jesse Puljujarvi at 1:08 of the first period and had a relatively routine night until the mid-point of the third period – when Puljujarvi beat him twice in a 20-second span to complete a hat trick to match Peterka.
Here's a quick rundown on some items from the exhibition opener:
1. Peterka power
With the Sabres leaving for an exhibition tour of his native Germany on Tuesday night, Peterka showed he's roaring for the trip home. He tipped home a Jack Quinn shot out of midair at 3:25 of the first period, scoring five seconds into a power play, drilled home a wrister off an Alex Tuch pass to snap the 1-1 tie and tipped a Tage Thompson shot at 5:26 to complete his hat trick."The system fits us pretty well, playing quick, keeping the puck moving," Peterka said. "Go more to the net, try to converge on more rebounds."
Peterka had 28 goals last season, finishing in this spot in the lineup where Jeff Skinner once roamed. He's going to be a restricted free agent after this season and would be looking at a mighty fine payday if he has a big year. It's reasonable to think his reps could look to go past the eight-year contract signed Friday by Utah's Dylan Guenther that pays $7.14 million to a player coming off a 17-goal season.
"I still don't know a lot about him. I've been able to watch him for a short period of time," Ruff said. "He had a great year last year, and I think with confidence, I don't know what the ceiling is."
Sabres coach Lindy Ruff watches during the first period of Saturday's preseason game against the Penguins at KeyBank Center. Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
2. The newbies
Lafferty's goal came on a backhand rebound after Beck Malenstyn was stopped on a breakaway. On a later shift, Malenstyn and Nicolas Aube-Kubel combined for two scoring chances and just failed to hook up on a breakaway pass.
The three NHL players all acquired in the offseason are huge upgrades over the likes of Zemgus Girgensons, Tyson Jost and Eric Robinson who had populated those spots last season.
"I thought they had a great night," Ruff said. "It's like a running game in football. They got the puck down low, they hung onto it. They couldn't take the puck away from them. They made five or six great plays for scoring opportunities. The puck possession is I think something that can wear a team down."
They trio has speed, skill and plenty of pugnacity. The Penguins spent much of the third period chasing Aube-Kubel around after he dropped Vasily Ponomarev with a hard body check.
"They brought energy from the puck drop, threw a lot of big hits out there," Peterka said. "Also crashing the net and contributing with goals. Overall, gave us a lot of energy and a lot of momentum."
3. The lineups
The Sabres don't have much time to waste in preseason with the flight to Germany ahead. So they played a mostly NHL lineup right away.
Sabres left wing Zach Benson, right, loses his helmet as he gets in a scrum with Penguins defenseman Mac Hollowell during Saturday's preseason game. Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
The only veteran forwards who didn't play were the expected third line of Ryan McLeod between Jason Zucker and Jordan Greenway. Missing from defense was Rasmus Dahlin, who still has not returned to practice.
The missing Penguins included Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and goalie Tristan Jarry, as well as injured defenseman Erik Karlsson.
4. What's next?
The Sabres will have a scrimmage group and a morning skate group Monday morning before playing the Columbus Blue Jackets here at 5 p.m., an earlier faceoff in deference to the Bills' Monday night game.