Penguins stumble again on power play, blow 2-goal lead in loss to Sabres

Any hopes of success the Pittsburgh Penguins harbored by reassembling their power-play units were not realized as they fell to the Buffalo Sabres in a come-from-ahead 3-2 loss at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y. on Friday.

With superstar forward Sidney Crosby headlining one power-play unit and fellow luminary center Evgeni Malkin leading the sequence squad, the Penguins were 0 for 2 on the power play. While they were productive in terms of generating five shots with the man advantage, the effort marked their sixth consecutive contest without a power-play score.

“We just have to figure out a way to be successful together,” Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson said of the power play after practice in Cranberry on Thursday. “We haven’t really found a consistent level of that yet. We’re still searching for it.”

All of the Sabres’ offense came in the third period as the Penguins surrendered a 2-0 lead.

“We probably should have been a bit better at possessing the puck,” Crosby told the Associated Press in Buffalo. “I thought we didn’t get a lot of zone time and allowed them to come back at us.”

Crosby’s 13th goal of the season opened the scoring 16:46 into regulation.

From behind his own goal line, Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson lost the puck thanks to a strong poke check by Penguins forward Jake Guentzel. Claiming possession in the right circle, Guentzel swooped above the circle and dished a simple short-area pass to the high slot, where Crosby swiped a one-timer between Sabres forward J.J. Peterka and forward Rasmus Dahlin then past goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s glove. That score snapped a modest two-game streak without a point for Crosby. Guentzel had the only assist.

Another defensive zone turnover allowed the visitors to stake a two-goal lead at 16:44 of the second period.

Out of his own left corner, Dahlin tried to rim the puck around the end boards but fanned on his release, allowing approaching Penguins forward Matt Nieto to claim possession. From below the left circle, Nieto fed a forehand pass to the Eller, stationed below the left hashmarks. Teeing up a one-timer, Eller ripped the puck by Luukkonen’s left shoulder and off the far post, banking it into the cage for his third goal. The lone assist went to Nieto.

The Sabres got on the scoreboard during power play at 5:13 of the third period via forward Jeff Skinner’s ninth goal.

Off a give-and-go sequence, Sabres forward Alex Tuch took a pass in the right corner of the offensive zone and then offloaded it to Skinner, who found a vacant spread of real estate between the right circle and crease. As Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson and forward Noel Acciari made vain efforts to provide resistance, Skinner elevated a wrister by goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic’s glove. Tuch and forward Victor Olofsson tallied assists.

Things were tied 2-2 at 10:52 of the third frame when forward Kyle Okposo scored his first goal of the season.

After Guentzel and linemate Drew O’Connor failed to connect on a pass in the Sabres’ left circle, Olofsson claimed possession and led a rush into the Penguins’ zone on the right wing. Pulling up on the right half wall, Olofsson distributed the puck to defenseman Rasmus Dahlin entering the zone at the center point. Surveying his options, Dahlin slipped a pass to the left circle for Okposo, who forced a pass attempt to the top of the crease intended for linemate Peyton Krebs. Karlsson defended the sequence soundly but inadvertently redirected the puck with the forehand blade of his stick past Nedeljkovic’s left skate on the far side. Okposo was credited with the goal off assists from Dahlin and Olofsson.

Tuch’s sixth goal supplied the Sabres with their only lead at 17:16 of the final frame.

From behind the Penguins’ net, Skinner fended off Penguins defenseman Kris Letang and shuffled the puck from the right of the cage to the slot, where Tuch chopped a forehand shot that glanced off of Eller’s stick and fluttered past Nedeljkovic’s glove. Skinner and forward Casey Mittelstadt had assists.

Nedeljkovic made 30 saves on 33 shots and as his record was leveled at 2-2-0.

“They got a power-play goal that got them some juice,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan told the AP. “And we’ve just got to be better in pushing back.”

Notes:

• Penguins forward Reilly Smith took an interference penalty against Sabres defenseman Erik Johnson at 5:15 of the second period. It was Smith’s first penalty in 52 games dating to his time as a member of the Vegas Golden Knights last season.

• Penguins forward Bryan Rust was scratched for the second consecutive game due to an undisclosed injury.

• Penguins forwards Jansen Harkins and defenseman Dmitri Samorukov were healthy scratches.