Sabres v. Penguins

SABRES 6, PENGUINS 5

Jocelyn Thibault (photo: Getty Images)

The Buffalo Sabres won their third game of the exhibition season in dramatic fashion. After 59 minutes of a seesaw battle and with the score knotted at 5-5, the Sabres hottest center continued to light-up the opposition.

Derek Roy, who had already registered a goal and two assists in the game, streaked up the right wing and one-timed a rebound into a wide-open net to give Buffalo the 6-5 lead with only 28 seconds remaining in regulation.

Evgeni Malkin nearly forced overtime in its waining moments after his one-timer from the right elbow found the twine. But an official review confirmed that the puck hadn't crossed the goal line before the final horn sounded.

In the Sabres wildest game so far, 11 different players recorded points. Roy led the way with four, while Brian Campbell added a goal and an assist. Henrik Tallinder, Thomas Vanek and Marek Zagrapan also lit the lamp.

Mike Ryan recorded a pair of assists for his first points of the preseason.

Jocelyn Thibault dropped to 1-2 after facing his former team. Thibault, who appeared in 22 games for Pittsburgh as Marc-Andre Fleury's backup last season, allowed five goals off 21 shots. Three of the Penguins tallies came during six man-advantage opportunities.

Sidney Crosby led the Penguins with a pair of goals and an assist, while Ryan Whitney complimented him with two helpers.

Erik Christensen and Ryan Malone each tallied two points - a goal and an assist.

The home-and-home series will shift to HSBC Arena tomorrow to conclude the exhibition season for both teams.

The Sabres will be holding an autograph session following Saturday night's contest and tickets for children 12 and under are half price. Click either link for more details.

In my opinion the 3 stars were definatley selected correctly, with Derek Roy the 1st star, Sidney Crosby the 2nd star, and Evgeni Malkin the thrid star. Marek Zagrapan got his first NHL goal.