Sabres Stage Incredible Comeback with 3 Straight Goals in the 3rd Period to Defeat Penguins

The Penguins (9-10-0) saw goals from Sidney Crosby and Lars Eller, with Nedeljkovic making 31 saves.

Reflecting on the game, Crosby commented, “I think we probably should have been a bit better at possessing the puck [in the third period]. I thought we didn’t get a lot of zone time and allowed them to come back at us. Even with that, we had our looks to extend the lead and didn’t do that.”

Skinner jumpstarted the Sabres’ comeback, narrowing the score to 2-1 on the power play at 5:13 of the third period. His goal marked the end of Nedeljkovic’s shutout streak at 111:22.

Meanwhile, Okposo’s shot from the bottom of the left circle tied the game 2-2 at 10:52. It was Okposo’s first goal of the season.

“[Okposo] said some things [during the second intermission] that I think everyone wanted to run through a brick wall after he spoke,” Tuch said. “He’s the type of guy that, it doesn’t matter what he says, everyone in here is going to listen. He leads by example, has a big goal for us. It doesn’t matter whether he scored that goal or not, he was doing all the little things and he was working his [behind] off out there and that’s what he’s been doing.”

At 16:46 of the first period, Crosby put Pittsburgh ahead 1-0, while Eller extended the lead to 2-0 at 16:44 of the second period.

Karlsson remarked, “There’s no excuse that we let in one on the [penalty kill], which has been really good for us.” Referring to the deflating effect of the game, Karlsson noted, “It deflated us a bit, which it’s on us not to let that happen.”

NOTES: Buffalo forward Zemgus Girgensons left the game midway through the second period with a lower-body injury. After the game, Coach Don Granato did not have an update on Girgensons or forward Jordan Greenway, who was scratched with an undisclosed injury. Crosby has 82 points (28 goals, 54 assists) in 58 games against the Sabres, an average of 1.41 per game, which is second in NHL history (minimum 50 games) behind Wayne Gretzky (1.51). Crosby extended his road goal streak to five games. Dahlin’s assist on Okposo’s goal marked his 200th in the NHL. It came in his 375th game, making him the second-fastest Sabres defenseman to reach the mark after Phil Housley. The win was Buffalo’s first when trailing by multiple goals in the third period since Nov, 2, 2022, also against Pittsburgh.