Buffalo Sabres Opponent Outlook: Pittsburgh Penguins

By Melissa Kania | Oct 2, 2015

When the Buffalo Sabres face the Pittsburgh Penguins this coming season, they’ll have a new player to keep on their watch-list, aside from just Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin – and all the other talent. The addition of newcomer Phil Kessel promises to be even more of an offensive threat in the 2015-2016 NHL season.

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Last season, the Penguins narrowly made the playoffs, edging out Boston for the final spot by just a two-point margin – and it was a win over the Sabres that allowed them to finally clinch. They finished the season 43-27-12, going 23-14-4 at home and 20-13-8 on the road.

Last season, somewhat unsurprisingly, the Penguins won all three meetings against the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres were shut out twice by Pittsburgh last season, managing just one goal in the other game that they DID manage to score in.

Overall, the Buffalo Sabres were outscored 13-1 in the trio of games against the Penguins.

The first meeting of the season saw Sidney Crosby tally three assists as the Penguins put up a 5-0 campaign against the Buffalo Sabres.

Chris Kunitz had a pair of goals, with Comeau, Hornqvist and Evgeni Malkin tallying the others. Fleury had an 18-save shutout, while Jhonas Enroth stopped 29 of 34 shots faced.

A week later, the teams met again – this time, resulting in a 6-1 win for Pittsburgh. Crosby tallied a phenomenal five assists in the win.

Kris Letang and Hornqvist each had a pair of goals, with Malkin and Robert Bortuzzo adding their own tallies.

Zemgus Girgensons had the lone goal for Buffalo, assisted by Josh Gorges and Brian Gionta.

The final meeting of the season, the last game, allowed the Penguins to clinch a playoff spot in a meaningless game for Buffalo, who had clinched the 30th-place spot the night prior.

Brandon Sutter had both goals for Pittsburgh, while Nick Spaling, Blake Comeau, Daniel Winnik and Patric Hornqvist tallied the assists. Marc-Andre Fleury had a 28-save shutout.

Pittsburgh made two trades this offseason, starting with the nine-piece trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Nick Spaling, Kasperi Kapanen, Scott Harrington, a 2016 3rd-rounder and a conditional pick all went to the Leafs.

In exchange, of course, the Penguins got Phil Kessel, along with Tim Erixon, Tyler Biggs and a conditional draft pick.

The other trade sent Brandon Sutter and a conditional pick to Vancouver in exchange for Nick Bonino, Adam Clendening and a 2016 2nd-rounder.

On top of that, the Penguins lost quite a few players to free agency this summer.

Former Buffalo Sabres defenseman Christian Ehrhoff signed with the Los Angeles Kings. Daniel Winnik went to Toronto; Steve Downie, to Arizona. Paul Martin signed with San Jose, while Blake Comeau signed off with Colorado. Jayson Megna went to the New York Rangers, while Taylor Chorney signed with the Caps. Finally, Thomas Greiss signed with the Islanders.

Either way you look at it – that’s a lot of bodies lost, but also some good pieces picked up.

Newcomers to the Penguins via free agency: Eric Fehr, who signed from Washington, and Matt Cullen, signed from Nashville.

Dominik Uher, Beau Bennett, Bobby Farnham and Reid McNeill all re-signed with Pittsburgh in the offseason.

Throughout all that, there’s little doubt that Kessel has been the Penguins’ biggest addition this offseason.

Don’t think so? Just imagine a 3-on-3 overtime facing the barrage of Crosby, Malkin and Kessel. Oof. He’ll almost certainly find success with the Penguins and prove to be a strong piece of their success going forward.

Next: Has Jamaal Charles Lost a Step?

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