Observations: Eric Comrie receives little help in Sabres' preseason finale

Fans were confused when the Penguins began to celebrate because the goal light didn’t go on and the officials stood idle.

Eric Comrie knew the puck went in, though. Every Buffalo Sabres player on the ice did.

With his left pad on the ice, the Sabres goalie dug in using his right skate and pushed himself toward his left post to take away any open net from Crosby, whose heavy shot went off Comrie’s glove and in for the Pittsburgh Penguins' fourth goal in a 7-1 win over Buffalo.

It was that kind of night for Comrie and his teammates. That the game didn’t count against the standings was the only solace the Sabres could take from their exhibition finale. The Penguins raced out to a 3-0 lead at the first intermission after three notable miscues by Buffalo in its defensive zone and added four consecutive goals over the final 30 minutes of the game.

Sabres coach Don Granato called the effort "disjointed," adding that his group had "no rhythm" and didn't execute in the areas of the ice in which the Penguins excelled. Yet Granato also emphasized that his players, particularly those with less NHL experience, can benefit from an experience.

"I’m excited because I believe in our young talent and it’s young,'" he said. "You’re going to have mistakes, you’re going to have growing pains, but they’ll grow from it really fast because they’re talented. Tonight, there’s a lot of really good lessons tonight with the sacrifice of a loss as far as regular-season points. … This makes us better. The brunt of it was bore by Comrie. It’s unfortunate, but he can handle that."

Jake Guentzel opened the scoring when the Sabres turned the puck over behind their own net, Crosby made it 2-0 when he was left open at the far post because two Buffalo defensemen were out of position and the Penguins’ lead grew when soon-to-be Rochester blue liner Jeremy Davies wasn’t in position to lift Bryan Rust’s stick in time to prevent another easy tap-in from in front.

The Sabres’ defense corps struggled early without Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson, Owen Power and Henri Jokiharju, all of whom didn’t make the trip to Pittsburgh in preparation for the regular-season opener Thursday in KeyBank Center. Lawrence Pilut was the only defenseman in the lineup to finish with a plus rating, while Jacob Bryson and Ilya Lyubushkin, the lone NHL defense pairing, were on the ice together for four goals against.

The Penguins, meanwhile, iced a lineup that resembled the one they’re expected to use on their opening night. Crosby and Rust scored twice, while Guentzel, Ty Smith and Danton Heinen each contributed a goal. For the Sabres, Vinnie Hinostroza spoiled goalie Tristan Jarry’s shutout when he scored on a 2-on-1 with a high shot to cut the deficit to 3-1 in the second period. 

"I think it was a good wake-up call for us with what’s coming at us Thursday," Sabres forward Rasmus Asplund said, referring to the regular-season opener.

As a result, Comrie was under siege for a second consecutive start. He might have an issue with a few of his goals against, including Crosby's one-timer that again made it a three-goal deficit. Soon thereafter, Smith scored on a weak wrist shot from a few feet in front of the blue line to make it 5-1.

You couldn't evaluate the Sabres' NHL regulars given how many high-end players weren't in the lineup, including Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner, and the talent on the other side. 

But Comrie, 27, requested to play on the road, Granato said. Entering his second full NHL season, Comrie wanted the challenge of facing a better lineup with less support to prepare for his job as one of the Sabres' two goalies. He received little help in both games.

"We just tried to prepare ourselves for the season and to have the last game against a team with a full lineup was good for us, but we can’t give up that many goals," said Peterka. 

The dress rehearsals are over. The Sabres will trim their roster to 23 players by Monday at 5 p.m., and we’ll start to get a clear picture of what the lineup will be opening night. They finished the preseason with a 4-2 record and, though this wasn't an ideal tune-up for Comrie, the game gave Granato and his staff more teaching points to drill before standing points are at stake. 

"We tried to push back the entire game, but we couldn't match it," Peterka added. 

Here are other observations from the game:

1. Valuable experience

Peterka and Jack Quinn each played five of the six preseason games in preparation for their full-time move to the Sabres. Quinn had two goals and three points, while Peterka had an empty-net goal and two points. As a team, the Sabres scored 15 goals and allowed 18. 

"Compared from the first preseason game to the one here, I took a huge step," said Peterka. "That’s what I expected from myself before that. I knew it would take a bit from me."

2. Intriguing duo

Alex Tuch appears to be an ideal linemate for Quinn, who was noticeable again Friday night. In the first period, Tuch created a turnover at the Penguins’ blue line and sent Quinn in alone, though Jarry stopped the ensuing shot. Quinn’s instincts are at an NHL-level. He wisely skated toward the net late in the period and nearly scored when a Tuch pass went through the slot to the far post. 

3. Lineup

Though some of the Sabres’ regular didn’t make the trip to Buffalo, Granato used a few of the forward lines we could season next week. Dylan Cozens centered Peyton Krebs and JJ Peterka; Casey Mittelstadt was between Jack Quinn and Alex Tuch; Zemgus Girgensons skated at right wing with Sean Malone at center and Bjork at left wing; and Rasmus Asplund centered Vinnie Hinostroza and Victor Olofsson.

The defense pairs were Lawrence Pilut-Casey Fitzgerald, Jacob Bryson-Ilya Lyubushkin, Jeremy Davies-Kale Clague. Defenseman Chase Priskie was a healthy scratch.

4. Next

The Sabres open the regular season Thursday in KeyBank Center against the Ottawa Senators at 7 p.m.