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Penguins forward Sidney Crosby gets another milestone in blowout loss to Sabres | TribLIVE.com
Penguins/NHL

Penguins forward Sidney Crosby gets another milestone in blowout loss to Sabres

Seth Rorabaugh
Seth Rorabaugh
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The Penguins’ Sidney Crosby battles for the puck against the Sabres’ Owen Power during the first period Thursday in Buffalo.
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The Sabres’ Tyson Kozak (second from right) and Beck Malenstyn celebrate a goal against Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic during the second period Thursday in Buffalo.

With just about most milestones he reaches, Sidney Crosby will usually deflect to team-wide results instead of ruminating on individual accomplishments.

Crosby’s focus remains on the group and not himself.

And, presumably, he was not burdened with a surplus of elation after what happened to his team Thursday.

Despite Crosby ensuring he would become the first player in NHL history to average a point per game in 20 consecutive seasons, the Pittsburgh Penguins suffered one of their worst losses of 2024-25 as they were trampled by the Buffalo Sabres, one of the NHL’s worst squads, 7-3, at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y.

Crosby, who scored a goal in the first period to establish the mark, previously shared the distinction of 19 consecutive seasons with forward Wayne Gretzky.

It’s been a season full of milestones co-existing with defeats for Crosby and the Penguins.

“It’s tough,” Crosby said to reporters in Buffalo via audio provided by the team’s media relations staff. “You play to win. … Tough night, tough night.”

Things were tough for the visitors almost from the start.

For the 14th time this season, the Penguins surrendered a goal on the first shot they faced in a contest. Sabres forward Tage Thompson extended that streak Thursday with his 36th goal a mere 27 seconds into regulation.

After Penguins defenseman Kris Letang made an ill-advised pinch in the neutral zone against Sabres forward Zach Benson near the visiting penalty box, Thompson was able to generate a two-on-one rush with rookie linemate Jiri Kulich against Penguins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk. As Grzelyck offered minimal resistance, Thompson dragged the puck from the right circle toward the slot and sizzled a wrister by goaltender Tristan Jarry’s blocker. Benson and defenseman Rasmus Dahlin had assists.

Sabres forward Peyton Krebs’ seventh goal came at 4:44 of the first period.

Off a drop pass from Dahlin, Sabres defenseman Connor Clifton hustled up the right wing of the offensive zone and directed a wrister toward the crease. Sabres forward Alex Tuch and then Krebs managed to get their sticks on the puck before it found its way into the cage. Krebs was credited with the goal off assists from Tuch and Clifton.

Crosby’s 26th goal of the season came at 11:11 of the opening frame.

Racing to claim a loose puck deep on Buffalo’s left boards, Grzelcyk rimmed it to the end wall for Penguins forward Rickard Rakell, who then offloaded the puck below the left hashmark. Crosby stopped the puck with his right skate and then swiped a forehand shot by goaltender James Reimer’s glove. Rakell and Grzelcyk generated assists.

Kulich’s 13th goal came 3:36 into the second period.

Rushing in off the left wing wall of the offensive zone, Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram veered toward the slot and then fed a short-area pass to the left hashmarks where Kulich lifted a wrister by Jarry’s blocker. Byram and Thompson tallied assists.

Potentially for humanitarian concerns, Jarry was pulled for the second consecutive game when he allowed defenseman Mattias Samuelsson’s fourth goal only 104 seconds later.

From above the Penguins’ left circle, Sabres rookie forward Isak Rosen zipped a cross-ice pass to the opposite circle where Samuelsson, the son of former Penguins defenseman Kjell Samuelsson, pumped a wrister by Jarry’s glove on the near side. Assists were registered by Rosen and Dahlin.

Jarry finished with eight saves on 12 shots in 25:20 of ice time as his record tumbled to 12-11-5. As was the case in Tuesday’s 6-1 road loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, he was replaced by Alex Nedeljkovic.

Kulich struck again at 11:34 of the middle frame.

As a power-play opportunity for the hosts expired, Byram curled out of the Penguins’ right circle and dished a pass to the high slot for Kulich. Veering a bit toward the left circle, Kulich gripped and ripped a wrister through traffic and by Nedeljkovic’s glove on the far side. Byram and forward Jack Quinn qualified for assists.

Another rookie, Sabres forward Tyler Kozak, got in on the act with his third goal at 12:02 of the second.

Off a neutral zone turnover by Crosby, Krebs gained the Penguins’ zone near the center point and then fed a pass to the right wing for Sabres forward Beck Malenstyn, who put a wrister on net. Nedeljkovic made the initial save but allowed a rebound which Kozak, crashing in from the left circle, cleaned up with a backhander. Malenstyn and Krebs collected assists.

Tuch’s 28th goal came at 19:34 of the second during a four-on-four scenario.

Starting from behind his own cage, Sabres defenseman Owen Power pushed the puck up ice and made a mostly uncontested entry into the Penguins’ zone on the left wing. Pulling up on the half-wall, Power dished a backhanded pass to an onrushing Tuch, who barged toward the slot and ripped a wrister by Nedeljkovic’s glove that clunked off the right post and deflected into the cage. Power and Kozak had assists.

Penguins forward Blake Lizotte was credited with his 10th goal 2:16 into the third period thanks to a rare bit of good luck for his team.

Gaining the offensive zone on the left wing, Letang tapped the brakes at the half-wall and directed a wrister toward the cage. Reimer made the initial save but allowed a rebound that Lizotte chopped at with a backhander. Reimer made another save but on the ensuing scramble, Krebs inadvertently poked the puck into a vacant cage. There were no assists.

The scoring was capped at 13:54 of the final period via Penguins forward Kevin Hayes’ 11th goal.

At the center point of the offensive zone, Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves left a drop pass for defenseman Conor Timmins, who rushed the puck up the left wing wall. Approaching the crease, Timmins encountered kneeling Sabres defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker and flicked a one-handed backhand pass toward the far side of the blue paint. Slipping past the detection of Power, Hayes swatted the puck, causing it to flutter past Reimer’s glove. Timmins and Graves had assists.

Nedeljkovic stopped 15 of 18 shots in the 33:58 of ice time he had.

For the third time this season, the Penguins allowed the opposition to score seven or more goals. Previously, their net was filled up in a 7-1 home loss to the Dallas Stars on Nov. 11 and an 8-3 defeat at home against the Washington Capitals on Feb. 22.

“We expect better,” Penguins forward Bryan Rust said. “Getting embarrassing games like this I think makes everyone feel horrible.”

Notes:

• Penguins forward Connor Dewar received a fighting major at 5:53 of the third period after scrapping with Bernard-Docker.

• Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin was scratched for the second consecutive game due to an undisclosed injury. He was joined by forward Boko Imama due to an undisclosed injury as well.

• Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea rejoined the lineup after missing seven games due to a suspected left hand or wrist injury.

• Those comings and goings led to the Penguins dressing an irregular lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen.

• Crosby’s mark includes several seasons in which he played in fewer than 60 games for a variety of reasons.

2010-11 – 41 games (injury)

2011-12 – 22 games (injury)

2012-13 – 36 games (lockout and injury)

2019-20 – 41 games (injury and pandemic)

2020-21 – 55 games (illness and pandemic)

• In 62 career games against the Sabres, Crosby has 86 points (30 goals, 56 assists).

• Rosen’s assist was his first career point.

• Former Penguins forwards Sam Lafferty and Jason Zucker were among the Sabres’ scratches. According to the Buffalo News, Zucker was scratched to attend to a personal matter while Lafferty was sidelined due to a groin injury.

Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.

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