BUFFALO — The Buffalo Sabers scored five third period goals to hand the Pittsburgh Penguins their sixth straight loss, 6-3 at KeyBank Center on Wednesday.
Buffalo trailed 2-1 entering the front third Tagus Thompson, Victor Olofsson and Alex Tuch each scored in 7:13.
Olofsson scored twice, Thompson had a goal and an assist, and Owen Power, Rasmus Dahlin and Jeff Skinner each had two assists for the Sabers (7-3-0), who have won three in a row. Eric Comrie made 18 saves.
“We know they have a lot of talented players,” Tuch said. “…We didn’t beat ourselves up, we didn’t fall apart and we went out there and tried to respond right away. We were able to have a nice win from behind there, and that showed a lot of guts in this piece.
“It took all of us, honestly. We all persevered and it started with ‘Coms’ in the net and it went from there. So a lot of guys came in in that third period and we responded well. “
Video: PIT@BUF: Olofsson scores in 3rd period
Yevgeny Malkin got two assists and Casey DeSmith made 27 saves for the Penguins (4-5-2), who are 0-5-1 during the skid and have held a multi-goal lead in third in each of the last two games, including a loss of 6-5 in overtime against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.
“We have to build [confidence]”, captain of Pittsburgh Sidney Crosby said. “There is no secret. In a situation like this, you just have to find your way and be determined. It’s hard work and finding a way out. You can’t stay sit and feel sorry for himself.”
jason zucker gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead on a 2-on-1 at 6:28 of the first period after catching a pass from Malkin in the right faceoff circle.
Josh Archibald scored for the second game in a row when he buried a stream of Ryan Pohling wide on another 2-on-1 to make it 2-0 at 5:50 of the second period.
JJ Peterka cut to 2-1 at 18:51 after taking a pass from Power at the half wall and skating to the top of the right circle.
Jake Guentzel restored the two-goal lead on a power play eight seconds into the third when Kris Letang sent him on a breakaway with a long pass from inside the Penguins blue line to make it 3-1.
“That first part of the game, I think we did a good job of just creating offense out of defense,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “We had a number of 2-on-1s, odd rushes just from defending hard and making good decisions, winning wall battles, getting pucks behind their defenders, and going on runs. And then I thought the third period or the second half of the game, we just couldn’t beat the pressure on the walls and recognize the danger and make simple plays.”
Video: PIT@BUF: Guentzel scores PPG in 3rd period
Thompson cut it to 3-2 with a one-timer from the left circle on the power play at 3:21. Olofsson was left uncovered and tied it 3-3 from the right circle at 6:29 on a false pass from Power that froze DeSmith.
“Like everyone else, I first thought he was going to shoot it,” Olofsson said. “But I was ready for that. It was a great false pass and a false shot and an amazing pass.”
Tuch headed for the net and redirected a pass from Thompson to give Buffalo a 4-3 lead at 10:34.
“To give up the goal immediately to lose two goals, we hadn’t had a good night yet at that point, then we responded,” Sabers coach Don Granato said. “So it’s a testament to the will, the determination of the band. But I think they too, they know and we know their identity, and we knew we weren’t playing it up to this point. I think the collective feeling going into the third (was), ‘We’re going to get there, and we’re going to ride it.'”
Kyle Okposo (18:24) and Olofsson (19:53) each scored an empty-net goal for the 6-3 final.
“[The mood in the room is] what you’d expect for a team that’s lost a few leads on straight and winless nights in six,” Crosby said. “I mean, it’s not a great feeling and we have to find a way to get out of it.”
Video: PIT@BUF: Tuch puts Sabers ahead in 3rd period
REMARKS: Crosby, Guentzel and striker Bryan Rust were each minus-4. … Letang had an assist but posted a minus-3 differential in 23:24 of ice time after missing Tuesday’s game with illness. … DeSmith played his 100th NHL game. … Pittsburgh played without a forward Jeff Carter, who is day to day with a lower body injury. … Thompson is the first Sabers skater since Maxim Afinogenov in 2006-07 and 10th in team history with 10 or more points in three games. Only Pat LaFontaine had more points in three games (13 from October 23-30, 1992) than Thompson’s 11 (six goals, five assists). … Power was plus-3 and had four shots on goal in 23:51, and Dahlin had five shots on goal and four blocks in a game-high 29:25.
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