Although the Pens have beaten the Sabres in seven consecutive games, Buffalo has been hot of late, going 3-0-1 in their last four contests. The Sabres would be missing Ryan O’Reilly in this game, who was a late scratch.
The pace of the game was a bit sluggish at first, which could be attributed to the early start time of the game, the second in two consecutive days for Pittsburgh. The Pens got on the board first when Patric Hornqvist redirected a puck sent in front of the net by Trevor Daley, at 9:09 of the first period.