Pittsburgh, PA (WGR Sports Radio 550) – The Buffalo Sabres kicked off the 2026-27 preseason on the wrong side of a 4-1 decision against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.
The Sabres never led on Monday night. The Penguins took a 1-0 lead halfway through the first period, and never looked back. Forward Connor Dewar opened the scoring with a wrist shot through traffic. Dewar’s first goal of the preseason stood as the only goal of the opening 20-minutes of play.
In the second period, Penguins veteran forward Bryan Rust cashed in on a two-man advantage, as he potted Pittsburgh’s second goal of the night with 12:16 gone in the middle stanza.
With about 90-seconds left in the second period, Sabres prospect Jake Richard capitalized on a powerplay chance of his own to halve the Pittsburgh lead. Richard’s slick shot made it a 2-1 contest as the teams crept toward intermission number two.
However, the Penguins were able to sneak one more goal in before the second-period horn. Forward Avery Hayes’ buzzer-beater got over the goal line with about 1.7-seconds to spare on the clock, and made it a 3-1 Pittsburgh lead heading to the third period of play.
The only goal scored in the third was an empty-netter, courtesy of Penguins winger Elmer Soderblom. He put the game out of reach for good with 1:47 on the clock, as the Sabres officially dropped the preseason opener by this final score of 4-1.
Making the start in net, Lyon saved 16-of-19 shots against. In relief, Colten Ellis made eight saves.
Bluestar Home Services Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Bryan Rust – PIT
2,) Avery Hayes – PIT
3.) Hendrix Lapierre – PIT
What’s Next:
The blue and gold host the Columbus Blue Jackets tomorrow night, September 22. Puck drop at KeyBank Center is set for 7 p.m. with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray on the call on WGR Sports Radio 550.