The Penguins didn't do themselves many favors in their 5-1 loss to the Sabres on Thursday night, but neither did the officiating.
Ryan McLeod opened the scoring for Buffalo on a shorthanded goal, but the deficit was quickly erased when Bryan Rust answered with a shorthanded goal in his own.
The game started to spiral in the second period, starting with an altercation between Rasmus Dahlin and Evgeni Malkin that resulted in Malkin getting a game misconduct for slashing. Josh Norris scored on the ensuing Sabres power play from the scuffle, a goal that appeared to be goaltender interference, but was unsuccessfully challenged by the Penguins. Alex Tuch scored another shorthanded goal shortly after to make it a 3-1 game, and Owen Power added another goal midway through the second. Parker Wotherspoon was boarded by Beck Malenstyn late in the second, and while the infraction seemed vicious enough to warrant a major penalty, the Penguins only got a two-minute power play out of it.
The third period was relatively uneventful, and the second-period spiral proved to be too much to overcome. The Sabres added an empty-net goal late to cap it off.
THE ASYLUM
Penguins can't overcome second-period spiral
The Penguins didn't do themselves many favors in their 5-1 loss to the Sabres on Thursday night, but neither did the officiating.
Ryan McLeod opened the scoring for Buffalo on a shorthanded goal, but the deficit was quickly erased when Bryan Rust answered with a shorthanded goal in his own.
The game started to spiral in the second period, starting with an altercation between Rasmus Dahlin and Evgeni Malkin that resulted in Malkin getting a game misconduct for slashing. Josh Norris scored on the ensuing Sabres power play from the scuffle, a goal that appeared to be goaltender interference, but was unsuccessfully challenged by the Penguins. Alex Tuch scored another shorthanded goal shortly after to make it a 3-1 game, and Owen Power added another goal midway through the second. Parker Wotherspoon was boarded by Beck Malenstyn late in the second, and while the infraction seemed vicious enough to warrant a major penalty, the Penguins only got a two-minute power play out of it.
The third period was relatively uneventful, and the second-period spiral proved to be too much to overcome. The Sabres added an empty-net goal late to cap it off.
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits!
We’d love to have you!