NHL

Pittsburgh Penguins at Buffalo Sabres

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Kulich scores 2 in Sabres 7-3 win over Penguins. Crosby breaks Gretzky's point-per-game seasons mark

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Buffalo Sabres: Game Highlights

Buffalo won its fourth-straight home game with Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, Tyson Kozak each securing a goal and assist. Mattias Samuelsson also scored, and backup James Reimer made 22 saves in winning his third consecutive start.

Crosby’s goal 8:49 in to cut Buffalo’s lead to 2-1 was his 80th point, to assure he’ll finish his 20th NHL season averaging at least a point per outing. The 37-year-old surpassed Gretzky, who finished all but his 20th and final NHL season in 1998-99 averaging a point a game.

Kevin Hayes and Blake Lizotte also scored for Pittsburgh, which dropped to 1-3-1 in its past five.

Tristan Jarry was pulled after allowing four goals on 12 shots, and two days after allowing four goals on seven shots in a 6-1 loss at Tampa Bay. Alex Nedeljkovic mopped up, allowing three goals on 18 shots.

Takeaways Penguins: Continue unraveling on a night they entered having allowed an NHL-worst 261 goals.

Sabres: Erupted for seven goals despite a youth-laden lineup missing key veteran forwards Jason Zucker (personal issue), Joshua Norris (middle body) and Jordan Greenway (lower body).

Key moment A 1:44 second-period span in which Kulich and Samuelsson put Buffalo up 4-1. Kulich scored with a 20-footer over the goalie’s right shoulder, and Samuelsson's shot from the right boards beat Jarry on the short side 5:20 into the period.

Key stat The Sabres had 14 players register at least a point, including rookie Isak Rosen's first NHL point with an assist on Samuelsson’s goal.

Up next Penguins host Ottawa on Sunday, and Sabres open three-game road swing at Philadelphia on Saturday.

Regular Season Series

PIT wins series 2-1

Scoring Summary

Goal 1st Period 0:27 Tage Thompson Goal (36) Wrist Shot, assists: Zach Benson (15), Rasmus Dahlin (43)
Goal 1st Period 4:44 Peyton Krebs Goal (7) Tip-In, assists: Alex Tuch (25), Connor Clifton (11)
Goal 1st Period 11:11 Sidney Crosby Goal (26) Snap Shot, assists: Rickard Rakell (31), Matt Grzelcyk (34)
Goal 2nd Period 3:36 Jiri Kulich Goal (13) Snap Shot, assists: Bowen Byram (27), Tage Thompson (27)
Goal 2nd Period 5:20 Mattias Samuelsson Goal (4) Wrist Shot, assists: Isak Rosen (1), Rasmus Dahlin (44)
Goal 2nd Period 11:34 Jiri Kulich Goal (14) Snap Shot, assists: Bowen Byram (28), Jack Quinn (17)
Goal 2nd Period 12:02 Tyson Kozak Goal (3) Backhand, assists: Beck Malenstyn (6), Peyton Krebs (14)
Goal 2nd Period 19:34 Alex Tuch Goal (28) Snap Shot, assists: Owen Power (30), Tyson Kozak (2)
Goal 3rd Period 2:16 Blake Lizotte Goal (10) , assists: none
Goal 3rd Period 13:54 Kevin Hayes Goal (11) Wrist Shot, assists: Conor Timmins (10), Ryan Graves (3)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/pit.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originPIT https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/buf.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originBUF
8 Blocked Shots 14
28 Hits 15
8 Takeaways 7
25 Shots 30
0 Power Play Goals 0
3 Power Play Opportunities 4
0.0 Power Play Percentage 0.0
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
37 Faceoffs Won 27
57.8 Faceoff Win Percent 42.2
14 Giveaways 15
6 Total Penalties 5
15 Penalty Minutes 13
Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Sabres Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Owen Power, D Out Apr 19
Beck Malenstyn, LW Out Apr 17
Josh Norris, C Out Apr 15
Jordan Greenway, LW Out Apr 12
Pittsburgh Penguins Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Tanner Howe, LW Out Apr 24
Kevin Hayes, RW Out Apr 17
P.O Joseph, D Injured Reserve Apr 17
Kris Letang, D Out Apr 16

Game Information

KeyBank Center

Location: Buffalo, NY
Attendance: 16,418 | Capacity:

2024-25 Metropolitan Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Washington 51 22 111 9
Carolina 47 30 99 5
New Jersey 42 33 91 7
Columbus 40 33 89 9
NY Rangers 39 36 85 7
NY Islanders 35 35 82 12
Pittsburgh 34 36 80 12
Philadelphia 33 39 76 10

2024-25 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Toronto 52 26 108 4
Tampa Bay 47 27 102 8
Florida 47 31 98 4
Ottawa 45 30 97 7
Montreal 40 31 91 11
Detroit 39 35 86 8
Buffalo 36 39 79 7
Boston 33 39 76 10
Full Standings