The NHL Trade Deadline has dominated the headlines this week, with all trades needing to be completed by Friday afternoon, and the Buffalo Sabres have been heavily involved in rumors. However, for the players, the focus was on trying to extend their win streak to five on Thursday in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Penguins got the better of the Sabres at the beginning of February with a 5-2 win, and Buffalo returned the favor with a win in Pittsburgh. It was a back-and-forth contest in the first period but after that, it was all Buffalo. They would have three goals in the second period and secure a 5-1 win over Pittsburgh with an empty net goal late in the third period.
For the Sabres, they have now reached 80 points on the season and keep pressure on the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division. These are some of the takeaways from the Sabres' win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Sabres and Penguins trade short-handed goals in first period; Ryan McLeod leads the league in the category
The Pittsburgh Penguins are one of the better teams in the league in special teams as they rank in the Top 5 in both power play percentage and penalty kill. Both of those units got to work as each team had two power play opportunities in the opening period.
However, neither team could get much going when they had the man advantage, and in fact, it was when they were short-handed that they were able to get the scoring going. It would be Ryan McLeod who would score the first short-handed goal of the period and he now has five on the season. Entering this game, he was tied with three other players, but now owns the league lead outright.
The Penguins would respond with their own short-handed goal later in the period when Bryan Rust was able to beat Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
When teams have to account for players like Ryan McLeod, it helps keep them honest or, at the very least, not as aggressive as they might be.
Buffalo Sabres win the special teams battle in the second period
A weird first period was followed by an even weirder second period that was filled with numerous power-play opportunities for both teams. It started within the first minute of the period when Evgeni Malkin would be called for slashing after he hit Dahlin near his head.
The play resulted in a five-minute major and a game misconduct, and the Sabres were able to capitalize with a power-play goal by Josh Norris. After the goal, the Penguins would challenge the goal for goalie interference that was unsuccessful, and the Sabres would gain a 5-on-3.
However, it was short-lived as Ryan McLeod would be called for slashing that would make it 4-on-4 briefly before the Penguins had a power play. Once again, that didn't last long as the Penguins were called for a penalty, but the Sabres never got the man advantage because Alex Tuch would re-direct an Owen Power shot for their second short-handed goal of the game.
Through the first two periods, the two teams combined for nine power play opportunities, with the Sabres being the only one to score with the man advantage.
Ower Power is peaking at just the right time for the Buffalo Sabres
While the Buffalo Sabres might be looking for another defenseman before tomorrow's trade deadline, they are seeing Owen Power playing some of his best hockey. The former first-overall pick had one goal and one assist against the Penguins while being asked to play over five minutes of short-handed hockey.
In the past three games now has two goals, two assists, and a +/- of +4. Power might be one of the more polarizing players on the Buffalo Sabres among the fan base, but at this point, it's hard to deny what he has been able to do recently.
The Sabres now return home for back-to-back home games this weekend against the Nashville Predators and then a big divisional matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday.