For the past week, the Penguins have gotten a refresher on what life is like without the nonpareil Sidney Crosby, currently designated to injured reserve because of a suspected right leg injury.
On Thursday, they endured a blunt crash course on what it’s like to skate without their other superstar, Evgeni Malkin.
That latter lesson might continue for the foreseeable future as the NHL’s trade deadline looms at 3 p.m. Friday.
With Malkin ejected early in the second period as a result of a vicious slash against Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, the Penguins lost 5-1 at PPG Paints Arena.
Only 38 seconds into the second period, Malkin and Dahlin became entangled to the left of the Sabres’ cage. After Dahlin struck Malkin with a handful of cross checks, Malkin responded with a downward slash of his stick, striking the right side of Dahlin’s helmet, then his right shoulder.
Separating for a moment, Malkin dropped his gloves and was ready to fight Dahlin, who bowed away, holding his face. Officials separated the parties, sending each player to their respective penalty boxes.
Following a brief review, Malkin was assessed a game misconduct as well as major and minor penalties for slashing. Dahlin incurred a minor penalty for cross checking.
A league-issued suspension or fine would appear to be a possibility, if not a probability, for Malkin, particularly considering his history of supplemental discipline, a factor the NHL considers when weighing punitive measures. As recently as April 2022, he was suspended four games for cross-checking Nashville Predators defenseman Mark Borowiecki in the face.
As for the bulk of the contest, special teams largely dictated the flow, even before Malkin’s premature departure.
Sabres forward Ryan McLeod opened the scoring an even dozen minutes into regulation by collecting his 12th goal of the season while short-handed.
After chipping a puck past Penguins defenseman Kris Letang at the right point of Buffalo’s zone, McLeod generated a breakaway from the center red line. Gaining the offensive zone on the left wing, McLeod leveled out upon approach of the cage and tucked a clever backhander through rookie goaltender Arturs Silovs’ five hole.
Penguins forward Bryan Rust responded only 148 seconds later by scoring his 21st goal while on the penalty kill.
Racing into the offensive zone off the left wing, Rust cut across the front of the crease and deposited a tidy forehand shot past goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s left skate.
Following Malkin’s meltdown, the Sabres wound up with a five-minute power-play opportunity and converted that fortune when Josh Norris scored his ninth goal at 4:10 of the second frame.
The Penguins issued a coach’s challenge claiming goaltending interference when Sabres forward Josh Doan impaired Silovs. Officials found no evidence of such wrongdoing, resulting in the Penguins taking a delay of game penalty.
The NHL issued a statement indicating contact from Letang led to Doan bumping into Silovs.
The Sabres scored another short-handed goal at 6:18 of the second period when forward Alex Tuch tallied his 25th goal during a delayed penalty against the Penguins.
Taking a pass near the right point of the offensive zone, Sabres defenseman Owen Power motored a bit to the high slot and snapped off a wrister. Battling for position between the hashmarks, Tuch reached with his stick and deflected the puck past Silovs’ blocker.
At 10:30 of the second period, Power procured his sixth goal of the season and the first even-strength score of the contest.
Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson capped the scoring at 16:53 of the third period with his 12th goal on an empty net.
Silovs unofficially made 21 saves on 25 shots as his record slipped to 13-8-8.