In yet another preseason loss, and the fourth consecutive out of six games, the Pens fell to the Sabres by the score of 4-3.
Buffalo jumped out to a 1-0 lead late in the first on a powerplay goal from Derek Roy. Just the night before Roy tallied four points on the night with two goals and two assists. He'd have another point before the night's end.
Early in the second Buffalo tagged on another goal this time coming from defenseman Dmitri Kalinin. Eight minutes later the Pens would come within one on a shorthand goal from Maxim Talbot on a pass from Colby Armstrong. Colby would later star the third period off with a goal, tying it at 2 goals a piece.
On powerplay almost halfway through the third, the Penguins took the lead on a Gonchar laser in to the back of the net. From there the Pens would give up two more un-answered goals, with one coming from Jason Pominville on the powerplay.
Sitting on the bench for the Pens tonight were notable starters Sidney Crosby, Mark Recchi, Gary Roberts, Petr Sykora and Kris Letang.
Worth noting; aside from the shorthanded goal in the second period, the Pens penalty kill unit was nowhere near as consistent from the night before. On six powerplay attempts, the Sabres converted twice. Similarly on six attempts, the Penguins only converted once.
Fleury was in net, stopping 18 of 24. Miller was the backstopper for the Sabres tonight, kicking out 14 of 17 shots faced.
Thus ends the preseason, and the timing couldn't have been better. In an otherwise pitiful display, the Penguins finished 1-5, with the only win coming against Montreal two games in to the preseason.
Sure, you'll have your optimists and pessimists, but I think I fall in between here. When I'm sitting in the seat watching Anaheim at Pitt next week, I better see an iron-walled penalty kill and at the least a 30% conversion on the powerplay. To be blunt, I'm neither an optimist or pessimist; I'm just demanding.
With that said, rests up boys. The regular season officially kicks off in seven days at Carolina. Let's put the preseason behind us and focus on the games that matter.
