Empty Thoughts: Penguins 5, Sabres 2

Observations from the Penguins’ 5-2 win against the Sabres:

First things first, there was no substantive update on Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen following the game. He left the contest after dealing with some kind of injury throughout the second period. At one point, he was in so much discomfort he had to lay down face-first in the runway to the dressing room.

Ultimately, he left the game at 12:31 of the middle frame and never returned.

His absence continued a running theme for the Penguins of losing key forwards to injuries.

The likes of Teddy Blueger, Evgeni Malkin, Brandon Tanev and Jason Zucker being injured have led to the Penguins having a pockmarked lineup, particularly up front among the forward ranks.

On Wednesday, quite a few of their replacements stepped up.

The most notable of that group was Frederick Gaudreau.

With the penalty kill particularly hamstrung with the injuries of Blueger and Tanev, Gaudreau has carved out a pretty regular role in short-handed situations, averaging 1:37 of penalty kill ice time in the four game he has dressed for the Penguins.

Late in the second period, while on a penalty kill, Gaudreau made a gutsy, determined play to steal a puck in the defensive zone, drive it up ice and create a goal for forward Zach Aston-Reese.

“Freddy made a really nice play at the blue line,” Aston-Reese said. “I think he toe-dragged (Sabres defenseman Rasmus) Dahlin. Just a great effort. Honestly, I had no idea he was going to give me the puck. I was in awe of the play he made. It was a really nice play.”

Gaudreau got an assist on the sequence, his first point at the NHL level in more than two years.

As chronicled earlier this week, Gaudreau doesn’t take his time in the NHL for granted. He greatly appreciates any day he gets to spend at this level.

If he has done enough during this brief stretch at the NHL level to make things a bit more permanent when the Penguins begin to get some forwards back, that’s a matter of speculation. But the likes of Mark Jankowski or Colton Sceviour may want to look over their shoulders as Gaudreau has certainly maximized his time in the lineup.

The play he made Wednesday might have been the most spectacularly individual sequence by a member of the Penguins this season.

“He’s such a hard-working player,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s got a great attitude, he’s such a positive guy. He doesn’t take anything for granted. He’s earned his way back into the NHL, he’s earned the minutes that he’s getting in our lineup. Those types of guys, you just root for. His energy is contagious, his enthusiasm is contagious. So we’re thrilled for him. He’s working extremely hard. He’s playing well right now for us.”

What happened

The Penguins took a 1-0 lead 7:36 into regulation. Lugging a puck up from his own zone, Jankowski fed a forehand pass up the left wing to forward Sam Lafferty. Generating a three-on-one rush with defenseman Cody Ceci and forward Evan Rodrigues against Sabres defenseman Colin Miller, Lafferty saucered a pass from the left circle to the right of the crease where Rodrigues, a castoff by the Sabres, tapped in a forehand shot past the left skate of former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins goaltender Dustin Tokarski for his third goal of the season. Assists went to Lafferty and Jankowski.

It became a 2-0 game at 15:44 of the first period. After Rust hounded Sabres forward Casey Mittlestadt into a turnover on the left half wall of Buffalo’s zone, Rust fed a forehand pass to Crosby on the end boards. From there, Crosby forced a pass to the right circle for Guentzel that was broken up by Miller. The puck deflected off of Tokarski’s stick to the right of the crease. Defenseman Kris Letang snuck in from the right circle undetected and roofed a wrister for his sixth goal. Crosby and Rust had assists.

The Sabres got on the scoreboard at 17:17 of the first. After Sabres forward Eric Staal beat Lafferty on a faceoff in the Penguins’ left circle, Sabres forward Taylor Hall settled the puck on the left half wall and fed a pass to defenseman Brandon Montour at the left point. From there, Montour distributed the puck to the center point where Dahlin stroked a one-timer that sailed through traffic and beat goaltender Tristan Jarry’s glove for his second goal. Montour and Hall netted assists.

A goal by Penguins defenseman John Marino at 17:29 of the second period made it a 3-1 contest. After a forechecking Sceviour forced Sabres forward Cody Eakin into a turnover on the end boards of the offensive zone, Aston-Reese moved it along to forward Jared McCann behind the net. Moving to the right corner, McCann dished a forehand pass to the top of the right circle where defenseman John Marino chopped a one-timer past Tokarski’s blocker on the far side for his second goal. Sceviour provided a screen on the sequence while McCann and Aston-Reese collected assists.

A short-handed goal late in the second at the 19:36 mark increased the Penguins’ lead, 4-1. From above the Penguins’ right circle, Gaudreau intercepted a pass from Hall then deked around Dahlin at the blue line to create a breakaway. Chugging into the Sabres’ zone, Gaudreau veered to the right of the cage, drew Tokarski a bit out of his crease and fed a pass to the slot for a trailing Aston-Reese who chipped the puck into a vacant cage for his seventh goal. Gaudreau had the lone assist.

Crosby got in on the act with a four-on-four goal 3:57 into the third period. After Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson forced Staal into a turnover in the Penguins’ zone, he backhanded the puck to the neutral zone. Off the right wing, Guentzel chipped a backhand pass to the center point of the offensive blue line for Crosby, springing him on a breakaway. Veering slightly to the left circle, Crosby snapped a wrister past Tokarski’s blocker on the near side for his 13th goal. Assists were recorded by Guentzel and Matheson.

The scoring was capped at 14:35 of the third period when Sabres forward Victor Olofsson collected his ninth goal on a penalty shot.

Statistically speaking

• The Penguins dominated shots, 42-28.

• Rodrigues led the game with eight shots.

• Montour and forward Sam Reinhart each led the Sabres with five shots.

• Letang led the game with 24:10 of ice time on 28 shifts.

• Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen led the Sabres with 22:06 of ice time on 25 shifts.

• The Penguins controlled faceoffs, 34-30 (53%).

• Crosby was 14 for 19 (74%).

• Staal was 12 for 21 (57%).

• Sabres defenseman Matt Irwin led the game with three blocked shots.

• None of the Penguins had more than one blocked shot.

• Jarry made 26 saves on 28 shots.

• Tokarski made 37 saves on 42 shots.

Randomly speaking

• One thing should be kept in perspective when evaluating all the successes the Penguins had in this game:

It was against the Buffalo Sabres. They stink. They’ve lost 15 consecutive games (0-13-2). They barely function as an NHL franchise. Anything short of a two-goal advantage against them, even with a short-handed lineup, would be inexcusable.

• That said, the fact that the Penguins got plenty of secondary contributions was significant. And it wasn’t just in the form of goals.

Three of the penalties the Penguins drew came from bottom-six forwards — Anthony Angello, Lafferty and Sceviour. On the winning goal by Marino, Sceviour helped establish possession with a strong forecheck then a solid screen. Angello and Lafferty each threw their bodies around. Even Jankowski got a point.

It was quite a step forward for that group.

• The Sabres didn’t get much help on the injury front either as forward Rasmus Asplund left the game in the first period due to an undisclosed injury. That was preceded by forward Tage Thompson being an unexpected scratch due to an illness.

Historically speaking

• Jarry (47 wins) surpassed Johan Hedberg and Roberto Romano (46 each) for ninth place on the franchise’s career goaltending wins list.

• Olofsson’s penalty shot was the first by a Sabres player against the Penguins in just over nine years. Forward Patrick Kaleta was denied by goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury in a 6-2 home win by the Sabres at First Niagara Center on Feb. 19, 2012.

• The last successful penalty shot against the Penguins in Pittsburgh was by Toronto Maple Leafs forward Chad Kilger against Fleury during a 1-0 win by the Maple Leafs at the Civic Arena on March 19, 2006.

• Gaudreau’s assist was his first point since Feb. 5, 2019. As a member of the Nashville Predators, he recorded the primary assist on a game-winning goal in a 5-2 home victory against the Arizona Coyotes.

Publicly speaking

• Aston-Reese joked about his celebration with Gaudreau:

“I watched the replay, I thought it looked like I was going to kiss him almost. I’ll definitely maybe get his groceries. I saw him at Whole Foods the other night. So next time I’ll grab his groceries for him.”

Visually speaking

• Game summary.

• Event summary.

• Highlights:

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