On Friday, the Buffalo Sabres will play their final game of the NHL preseason on the road against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Through the first five games of the preseason, Buffalo is 4-1 and on October 1 the Sabres defeated the Penguins 3-1 in their only prior meeting against Pittsburgh during the preseason.The only blemish on Buffalo's preseason record through the first five games was a 4-1 loss to Columbus.
Buffalo has not reached the postseason in the last nine years. Buffalo's last winning season was in 2011-12. Because of having such poor' seasons, Buffalo has had several top selections in the NHL draft and many of those will play key roles for the club this season including forwards Jack Quinn, Casey Mittlestadt and Dylan Cozens along with defenseman Owen Power and Rasmus Dahlin. Peyton Krebs, who was acquired by Buffalo in the trade of Jack Eichel, is expected to be a key piece of the puzzle for the Sabres.
The Pittsburgh Penguins will also be playing their final game of their preseason schedule on Friday when hosting Buffalo. Through the first five games of their preseason, Pittsburgh is 2-3. The Penguins are coming off a 3-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Monday, which snapped a three-game losing streak for Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh's only other victory besides defeating Detroit was a 3-2 overtime win over Columbus.
Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jake Guentzel have been the scoring leaders for the Penguins for several seasons but have also suffered through many injuries. This season Bryan Rust must continue his strong play after last season scoring 24 goals and adding 34 assists in just 60 games. Danton Heinen played extremely well last season with 18 goals, while Jeff Carter played well with 19 goals and 26 assists. In goal, Tristan Jarry is coming off a very strong season and must have a repeat performance in 2022-23.
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