BUFFALO, N.Y. — It seems anything that can go wrong will go wrong for the Buffalo Sabres this season. Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Alex Nedeljkovic added to that list on Friday night when he collected the puck behind his own net, turned around and shot it the length of the ice for the 16th goalie goal in NHL history.
The goal gave the Penguins a 5-2 lead and set off a rowdy celebration. Nedeljkovic skated to the bench and jumped into a crowd of teammates. The thousands of Penguins fans who made the trip to Buffalo were going nuts.
“Maybe I pushed it a little too far jumping into the bench there, but it’s my first goal,” Nedeljkovic said after the game. “What do you expect?”
Added Penguins forward Bryan Rust: “It was pretty extra but I feel like in that situation you need to be extra.”
As it has been too often this season, the visiting dressing room at KeyBank Center was jubilant on Friday. The Penguins were chanting their goalie’s name, cracking jokes about his historic 2-point night and soaking in a much-needed win to start a lengthy trip.
Meanwhile, the Sabres were left trying to figure out how they can’t seem to get out of last place in the Eastern Conference. They’re now 17-23-5 and 9-12-3 at home. That home record is among the worst in the NHL.
On Friday, the Sabres weren’t drastically outplayed by the Penguins. Buffalo finished with a 42-19 advantage in shots. The Sabres had 63 percent of the expected goals at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.
These Penguins aren’t what they once were. They came into the game with a minus-36 goal differential that was third worst in the NHL. They’re on the outside looking in at the playoff picture right now. Their core is aging.
But this game still provided subtle reminders of how much Buffalo lacks the little things Pittsburgh has. The Sabres took a 1-0 lead to the first intermission after a goal from Owen Power. The second period played out familiarly. Rasmus Dahlin took a penalty 31 seconds into the second period, and the Sabres allowed a power play goal to Rickard Rakell. Less than 30 seconds of game time later, Anthony Beauvillier snuck behind Power and Henri Jokiharju and beat Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead.
The Penguins controlled the game from there. Late in the second period after the Sabres failed to convert on a short-handed breakaway, Cody Glass scored a power play at the other end of the ice. Then the Penguins made another push after the second intermission. Rust scored 1:09 into the third period to open up a comfortable 4-1 lead.
While the Sabres were taking ill-timed penalties and failing to capitalize on enough of their 15 high-danger chances, the Penguins took advantage of a handful of Sabres mistakes. Pittsburgh got timely secondary scoring and converted on three of four power-play chances. They also got fantastic goaltending from Nedeljkovic, who had a goal and an assist to go with 40 saves.
Pittsburgh goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic celebrates his goal with teammates. (Timothy T. Ludwig / Imagn Images)
“I thought we made him look too good,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said.
The Sabres got none of those three things. Their power play was 1-for-5, they couldn’t convert enough chances and Luukkonen struggled in stopping just 14 of the 18 shots he faced.
“I thought for most of the game we mostly dominated,” Sabres forward Zach Benson said. “Those are games you’ve got to find a way.”
But it was the Penguins who found a way. The Sabres just found another new way to lose.
Quick hits
1. The Sabres needed much more from Luukkonen in this game. He allowed four goals on 1.78 expected goals against, according to Natural Stat Trick. The Sabres needed a few big stops from Luukkonen to turn this game in their favor and those saves never came. He’s had trouble finding the same consistent level he reached at the end of last season. His save percentage has been below .900 in four of his last six starts. He has a 3.02 goals against average and .896 save percentage this season. Goaltending isn’t Buffalo’s biggest problem, but Luukkonen has been unable to cover up the rest of the team’s flaws the way he did at the end of last season.
2. Power scored the first power-play goal of his career and recorded his first power-play point of the season. Maybe that will be a chance for him to build some confidence. As encouraging as his even-strength production is, Power gets too much power-play time to have gone so deep into the season without a point.
3. Jiri Kulich is nearing a return and when he does come back expect him to play center. Ruff said this week that’s where he likes him best because of the way he can transition the puck out of the defensive zone. Kulich cracked the Sabres’ lineup as a winger earlier in the season, but injuries necessitated a move to center. He played there plenty in the AHL and looks most comfortable at center so far. Tage Thompson’s been playing through injury and has moved to wing. Ryan McLeod and Dylan Cozens have both gotten time on the top line at center, but depth is an issue at that spot. Kulich’s return will help.
(Top photo of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen defending a shot against the Penguins that hit the goalpost: Timothy T. Ludwig / Imagn Images)
