On paper the Buffalo Sabres had the advantage tonight over the Pittsburgh Penguins. They put a pretty heavy NHL lineup on the ice while the Penguins brought a mostly AHL lineup.
The Sabres controlled the play in the first period. They outshot the Penguins 14-7 in the opening period. Casey DeSmith made a few nice saves to keep his club in the game, including post to post save on C.J. Smith.
Ristolainen was perhaps the best Sabres player to start the game with a few scoring chances and laying a huge hit on Penguins forward Daniel Sprong.