The Buffalo Sabres started their exhibition schedule on a favorable note, as the club scored five times in the first 5:26 of the second period in a 7-3 romp of the Pittsburgh Penguins at Key Bank Center. J-J Peterka had a hat trick in the win, Owen Power, Henri Jokijharju, Sam Lafferty, and Dylan Cozens also scored for Buffalo, while Jesse Puljujarvi responded with his own hat trick for Pittsburgh.
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In fairness, the Sabres dressed close to their opening night roster, sitting out only one of their expected four forward lines and injured blueliner Rasmus Dahlin, while the Pens lineup closely resembled who they dressed on Monday in the finale of the 2024 Prospects Challenge.
Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen appeared rusty in the contest, allowing the opening goal 1:08 into regulation and three on 18 shots, but the Sabres dominated the contest and showed off some of the new tactics implemented by head coach Lindy Ruff.
“We’ve talked about the predictability of our play, like how we want to break out, and a big part of the breakout is our (defense) being involved,” Ruff said. “The second part is our forwards knowing when they are involved, to make sure that we have their back and have them covered.”
Related: Peterka In Prime Position For Big Season With Sabres
The Sabres defense was more active in carrying the puck into the offensive zone and jumping into chances, which resulted in six points for Buffalo’s blueline. Jokiharju had a goal and two assists, Power had two points (1 goal, 1 assist) and Bowen Byram added a helper.
It is expected that most of the players who played on Saturday will go again for Buffalo in their final home preseason game against Columbus on Monday. The game is a 5 pm start because of the Buffalo Bills home game against Jacksonville.
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