The Buffalo Sabres were defeated 5-3 by the Pittsburgh Penguins in a preseason game held Wednesday at KeyBank Center.
Josh Norris led the Sabres with two goals, both assisted by Peyton Krebs. Rasmus Dahlin also scored for Buffalo, capitalizing on a breakaway opportunity.
Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made his preseason debut but left the game after the first period due to a lower-body injury, having stopped 11 of 12 shots faced. Alexandar Georgiev replaced him and recorded 10 saves on 13 shots during the final two periods.
Defenseman Michael Kesselring exited late in the second period and did not return for the third.
The scoring summary began with Pittsburgh’s Tristian Broz netting a power-play goal at 17:32 in the first period, assisted by Philip Tomasino and Robby Fabbri. Josh Norris responded for Buffalo just ten seconds later, with assists from Peyton Krebs and Ryan Johnson.
Pittsburgh regained the lead in the second period with goals from Matt Dumba and Avery Hayes. In the third period, Norris scored again for Buffalo with help from Tage Thompson and Krebs. Ville Koivunen extended Pittsburgh’s lead before Dahlin brought Buffalo within one on a power play. Filip Hallander sealed the win for Pittsburgh with an empty-net goal late in the game.
The Sabres will finish their preseason schedule Friday night in Pittsburgh before opening the regular season at home against the New York Rangers on October 9.
