Zemgus Girgensons scores late, Sabres beat Penguins 3-1
Zemgus Girgensons jammed a loose puck by Tristan Jarry late in the third period and Rasmus Dahlin added an empty netter to lift the Buffalo Sabres past the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 on Saturday night.
Pittsburgh had tied the game earlier in the period on Rickard Rakell's fourth goal of the season.
Buffalo responded when Girgensons fought his way to the front of the Penguins' net and flicked a backhand by Jarry to give the Sabres the lead with 4:38 remaining.
Dahlin provided insurance with 1:36 to play when his long flip from the Buffalo end reached the net just as Jarry was skating to the Pittsburgh bench for an extra attacker.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 42 shots for Buffalo. Alex Tuch gave the Sabres an early lead with his 10th goal of the season as the team earned its third victory in four games.
Jarry made 29 saves for the Penguins, his lone mistake coming early on when Connor Clifton threaded a pass from the Buffalo zone to Tuch standing all alone at the Pittsburgh blue line. Tuch took a few strides toward the goaltender then fired a wrist shot by Jarry 2:53 into the first.
Jarry, pulled from a loss to Washington on Tuesday after a shaky start, quickly settled down but couldn't get in front of Girgenson's attempt from in close.
Pittsburgh had a pair of goals taken off the board in the first.
Drew O'Conner's tap-in off a pretty drop pass from Crosby was nullified after the Sabres successfully challenged that Crosby was offside.
Buffalo won another challenge moments later when officials ruled Jake Guentzel interfered with Luukkonen at the top of the crease while redirecting a shot by Crosby. The calls marked the first time the Penguins had multiple goals overturned in the same game since the challenge system was instituted in 2015.
Luukkonen, who has struggled for most of December, responded with some occasionally spectacular play. He turned away a handful of breakaways, including a slick save on Guentzel late in the second period.
UP NEXT
Sabres: Begin a six-game homestand on Tuesday night when Seattle visits.
Penguins: Travel to cross-state rival Philadelphia on Monday night.
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