Penguins Rattle Sabres, 5-2

When we were kids growing up in suburban Bethel Park, my brother, Dan, would get so excited at the sight of the gifts under our family Christmas tree he’d start to yell and practically hyperventilate.

Well, last night when Penguins rookie Avery Hayes bolted past Sabres defenseman Jacob Bryson with a shocking burst of speed before blowing the puck by Alex Lyon, I, too, let out a similar yell.

Totally involuntary.

And then it happened again 73 seconds before the first intermission. Again, on a play by Hayes. The plucky 5’10” 180-pounder wheeled through the neutral zone, dumped the puck into the Sabres’ end and crashed 6’4” 230-pound Mattias Samuelsson into the end boards while battling for the puck. Then he peeled off the check, pursued 6’6” 220-pound Tage Thompson up the wall, banged into him, wheeled off that check and bolted to the net just in time to bury a nifty, between-the-legs backhand feed from Anthony Mantha.

Again, I felt something akin to a charge of electricity course through me. Judging by their reaction, I think Avery’s teammates did, too. But I digress.

Maybe I should start at the beginning. As much as I was jonesin’ for a win, I didn’t think one was forthcoming. Not with Rickard Rakell, Noel Acciari and Blake Lizotte out for the game. Especially without the latter (1-5-3 sans Lizzo going in).

Nor were the home-standing Sabres anything resembling a pushover. Not with a smokin’ 21-4-2 record stretching back to December 9.

Nothing that transpired over the first nine minutes did anything to sway my opinion. Especially after old friend Jason Zucker scored off the rush at 1:48 on the very first shot on goal.

Then Hayes Lightning struck, completely changing the tenor of the game. Given the equivalent of a tall shot of Jolt Cola by their rookie, the Pens, who’d looked a little limp at the start, suddenly began to impose their will.

Not to be outdone, fellow rookie Ben Kindel was seen puttin’ on the Ritz at 7:44 of the second period, to borrow from Mike Lange. Taking advantage of a blown tire, again by the luckless Bryson, Kindel scooped up the puck along the boards and sped into the Sabres’ zone on a 2-on-1 with Justin Brazeau. The kid sold pass with his eyes until he didn’t, lacing the puck past Lyon from the left circle.

Three-one, good guys, heading into the final period.

Unfortunately, Evgeni Malkin got whistled for a phantom tripping penalty just 74 seconds in (#$&! refs). The impossibly long Thompson struck from an impossibly sharp angle to cut our lead to 3-2.

It was pins-and-needles pretty much the rest of the game. Fortunately, Arturs Silovs was once again brilliant between the pipes. And Thompson mercifully fanned on a huge opportunity from the slot with about seven minutes to play.

A couple minutes later, Tommy Novak struck from the doorstep to make it 4-2, thanks to a masterful bit of puck ragging and a long-range shot/pass from Egor Chinakhov.

Incredibly, Mantha was sent off for hooking with 89 seconds left (#$&! Refs Part 2), in essence handing the Sabres a 6-on-4 power play with plenty of time to boot. But Silovs and the Pens stood tall and Kindel potted an empty-netter with 14 seconds to play to seal the deal.

Puckpourri

What an incredible debut by Hayes, who earned top-star billing and was arguably the most dangerous player on the ice. The kid fired off six shots on goal, tied for most on the Pens with the OG Kid, Sidney Crosby. Avery joined Jake Guentzel and Robbie Brown as the only players in franchise history to score a pair of goals in their black-and-gold debut.

Speaking of Hayes, as in Kevin, the veteran forward, centering the fourth line for Avery and Rutger McGroarty in his first game action since January 11, had outstanding numbers across the board, including a Corsi of 80 and an xGF% of 97.89!

And what a spirited game from Bryan Rust, without mustering so much as a single point or shot on goal. With top penalty killers Acciari and Lizotte out, Rust harkened back to his early pro days as a bottom-sixer and turned in a gritty, inspired performance, especially on the PK. His three blocked shots were a game-high.

Sabres forward Peyton Krebs inexplicably/inadvertently ran over Silovs at 10:33 of the third period, drawing swift retribution and some frontier justice from Connor Clifton. In addition to taking Krebs to task, the rugged rearguard finished a plus-3 with five hits, tying Parker Wotherspoon for the most on the night.

“Spoon” seems to be playing with a burr under his saddle of late. I like it. He and Clifton provide a physical 1-2 punch on the backline we haven’t employed since the days of Brooks Orpik and Deryk Engelland.

Speaking of Silovs, with 26 saves on 28 shots he was terrific once again. Over his past seven starts, the acrobatic netminder’s stopped 177 of 192 shots, good for a .922 save percentage. He seems to be emerging as a solid NHL goalie, just as Kyle Dubas had hoped.

With goaltending a position of organizational strength, it might afford our POHO/GM the luxury of dealing one for additional help at the deadline should he choose to do so.

Once again, I paid close attention to newcomer Ilya Solovyov. I had just made a mental note that I liked what I saw when he was undressed by Thompson. Ah, the PenguinPoop curse is alive and well.

The Pens (29-15-12, 70 points) maintain their hold on second place in the Metro at the Olympic break, one point up on the Islanders and five ahead of the fourth-place Blue Jackets and Capitals.

Time for a deep breath and some well-deserved R ‘n’ R for most of the guys. Good luck to Sid, Silovs and Erik Karlsson, who’ll be representing their respective countries at the upcoming Olympics.

Our prayers and best wishes for a full recovery for former GM Craig Patrick, who suffered a stroke in late December. There just isn’t a better or classier man in all of hockey. Truly, a Hall-of-Famer in the front office and as a person as well.