Penguins get back on winning track with festive but imperfect victory over Sabres
The Pittsburgh Penguins enjoyed one of their most buoyant crowds of the season at PPG Paints Arena on Wednesday as they hosted the Buffalo Sabres for their seemingly traditional “Thanksgiving Eve” game.
They were presumably thankful to witness an imperfect 4-2 victory, which was only the third triumph in the past 10 games for the Penguins (3-4-3).
The Penguins won despite being outshot 31-18 by one of the NHL’s most underwhelming squads.
While they entered Wednesday on a 4-1-0 surge, the Sabres have largely struggled this season and at the end of the business day, they had slipped to last place in the Eastern Conference.
They looked as though they might have avoided that indignity during the middle stanzas of this game as they overwhelmed the Penguins at the end of the second period and carried that momentum into the third frame.
Were it not for Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry, activated from injured reserve earlier in the day after being sidelined for seven games due to an undisclosed malady, the Sabres might have had a lead entering the third period, if not a win.
As it was, he made 29 saves and boosted his record to 6-2-0.
“(Jarry) was awesome,” Penguins forward Bryan Rust said. “Obviously, he’s been through it a bit. To see him come back this year, play well, have an injury, come back, have a huge game for us — probably the reason why we won that game — I think that’s big.
“He’s going to be a big part of this team moving forward.”
A big portion of those in attendance were evidently there to see Penguins rookie forward Tristan Broz make his NHL debut.
On Tuesday in Cranberry, Broz itemized the loved ones who were planning to attend.
“A bunch of family,” said Broz, who proceeded to identify seemingly everyone in that family. “My parents. My two sisters. All four of my grandparents. My mom’s sister and her family. I’ve got five buddies coming in too.”
Broz opened the contest as the center of the third line. Logging 11:30 of ice time on 15 shifts, he had two shots on two attempts and was 3 for 6 on faceoffs.
“He was a little bit more limited there in terms of his time and what he came out with in the first period,” coach Dan Muse said. “Then I thought in the second period, he really started to get going. He got a shot off there shortly after a faceoff. He had some other good moments there with the puck. It kept getting better as the game goes on.
“A really special day for him, his family.”
An unlikely source opened the scoring 17:09 into regulation when defenseman Matt Dumba scored his first goal of the season (and first as a member of the Penguins).
After ex-Penguins defenseman Conor Timmins made an errant turnover at the center red line, Dumba accepted the charity and raced into the offensive zone on the right wing. Dragging the puck a bit above the circle, Dumba snapped off a wrister. Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram tried to jab with a poke check but wound up tipping the puck, causing it to knuckle over goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s glove on the near side. There were no assists.
Dumba, 1-0 #LetsGoBuffalo #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/IDoUri3Din
— Buffalo Hockey Moments (@SabresPlays) November 27, 2025
Jarry wasn’t particularly busy during the first half of the contest, but the Sabres managed to mount a serious surge late in the second period when they fired five shots on 11 attempts in the final 4:56 of the frame.
That momentum carried over to the start of the third period as the Sabres generated six shots on 10 attempts before ex-Penguins forward Jason Zucker scored his sixth goal at the 7:20 mark.
Settling a loose puck in the high slot of the offensive zone, Bowen backtracked a bit toward the blue line, then offloaded a pass to Sabres forward Ryan McLeod, maneuvering up the left wing. From low in the circle, McLeod slid a cross-ice pass to Quinn, who gripped and ripped a wrister from the top of the right circle. Above the crease, Zucker supplied a screen between Dumba and defensive partner Ryan Graves on the sequence and deflected the puck behind Jarry. Quinn and McLeod merited assists.
Jack Quinn, 1-1 #LetsGoBuffalo #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/ahv213BttG
— Buffalo Hockey Moments (@SabresPlays) November 27, 2025
“We kind of didn’t have our composure,” Rust said of the Sabres’ strong play leading to Zucker’s goal. “We were kind of throwing pucks away, instead of just making plays. There’s a difference between chipping pucks out with a purpose to space so guys can skate onto it and then kind of just throwing pucks away.
“We kind of lost our composure a little bit.”
Rust, who had missed the previous two days of practice due to an illness, helped his team restore composure only 31 seconds later with his sixth goal.
After Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea chopped a one-timer from above Buffalo’s left circle, the rebound hit off the end boards and bounced loose to the left of the crease. As Luukkonen performed an impromptu breakdance trying to smother it, Rust recovered the puck, curled around in the left circle and fired a wrister that was blocked by Timmins. Rust regained another rebound in the slot, sashayed to the right circle and shuffled a forehand shot by a kneeling Bryam and through Lukkonen’s five hole. The only assist went to Shea.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) November 27, 2025
While Rust’s goal was obviously key just in the fact that it restored a lead, it was also vital in that it halted the momentum the Sabres had built up.
“Just over the last couple of games, just when (the opponent) scored, we’ve kind of gotten on our heels a little bit,” Rust said. “To be able to go out there and get one back right away, that’s huge. It does a lot for everyone just on the bench. It’s a little bit of relief and I think we’re able to go back to the game that we want.”
The hosts went up by a pair at 12:34 of the third period via forward Kevin Hayes’ first goal of the season.
Pushing play into the offensive zone on the right wing, Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson surveyed the scene as the Sabres made a casual line change and snapped a pass to the far side of the crease. Hayes chugged in from the left circle, escaped the detection of Sabres defenseman Owen Power and tapped in a forehand shot by Luukkonen’s right skate. Karlsson and defensive partner Parker Wotherspoon claimed assists.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) November 27, 2025
The Sabres persisted as Quinn cued up his sixth goal at 15:40 of the third frame.
After Penguins forward Sidney Crosby failed to make a strong clearing attempt from near his own left corner, Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson kept the puck in the zone at the near point and rimmed it along the left boards to behind the cage. Zucker accepted the puck on the end boards and backhanded a pass to the lower left hashmark, where a mostly unguarded Quinn swiped a forehand shot by the glove of a helpless Jarry. Zucker and Samuelsson secured assists.
Jack Quinn, 3-2 #LetsGoBuffalo #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/i39kRATGuY
— Buffalo Hockey Moments (@SabresPlays) November 27, 2025
Penguins forward Connor Dewar capped the scoring with his fifth goal on an empty net at the 19:02 mark of the final frame. Forward Danton Heinen and Shea had assists.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) November 27, 2025
The Penguins will have Thanksgiving off before they embark on a busy portion of the schedule. Between now and the NHL’s holiday break, which begins on Dec. 24, they will play in 14 games over a span of 26 days.
Collecting points — particularly after they largely struggled in November — is key as they enter a daunting December, no matter how imperfect they are in that pursuit.
“Doesn’t matter when we’re playing, it’s always important to get those points,” Rust said. “Especially, we haven’t had a very good month here and we have a lot of games between now and the holiday break.
“We’ve got to try to get as many as we can here.”
Notes:
• Dumba became the 591st player to score a regular season goal in franchise history.
• Dumba matched the goal figure he managed over 63 games last season as a member of the Dallas Stars. His lone score in 2024-25 came during a 5-4 road loss to the Edmonton Oilers on March 8.
Matt Dumba matched the goal figure he totaled in 63 games last season as a member of the Dallas Stars.
His lone goal in 2024-25 came during a 5-4 road loss to the Oilers on March 8.
pic.twitter.com/t2HjriAgmP— Seth Rorabaugh (@SethRorabaugh) November 27, 2025
• Penguins rookie forward Ville Koivunen was activated from injured reserve after missing the past three games due to a suspected leg injury. He opened the contest on the right wing of the third line. On 13 shifts, Koivunen logged 11:33 of ice time (including 53 seconds on the power play).
• Heinen’s assist was his first of the season at the NHL level.
• Broz became the ninth rookie to appear in a game for the Penguins this season. That is the top figure in the NHL in 2025-26.
• Broz became the 29th player to wear No. 26 in a game of consequence for the Penguins. His predecessors (via PittsburghHockey.net):
Dunc McCallum, Mike McMahon, Jim Morrison, Syl Apps, Pete Mahovlich, Orest Kindrachuk, Paul Mulvey, Steve Gatzos, Wayne Babych, Mike Blaisdell, Mark Kachowski, Mike Stapleton, Richard Park, Dave McLlwain, Petr Klima, Darius Kasparaitis, Garry Valk, Frantisek Kucera, Kent Manderville, Landon Wilson, Ronald Petrovicky, Ruslan Fedotenko, Eric Tangradi, Steve Sullivan, Mark Arcobello, Daniel Winnik, Andrew Agozzino, Jeff Petry
• Penguins defenseman Connor Clifton and rookie forward Ben Kindel were healthy scratches.
• Just prior to the opening faceoff, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds were presented to the crowd along with the USL Championship trophy they won on Saturday. The Riverhounds secured the first championship in franchise history in a 0-0 road draw against FC Tulsa by winning on penalty kicks, 5-3.
IT’S A HOCKEY NIGHT IN PITTSBURGH ???????? https://t.co/8bkqwkgREh
— Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (@RiverhoundsSC) November 27, 2025
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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