Hayes scores twice in NHL debut, Penguins defeat Sabres

BUFFALO -- Avery Hayes scored twice in his NHL debut for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who defeated the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 at KeyBank Center on Thursday.

The 23-year-old forward, who was an undrafted free agent, was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League earlier in the day with Noel Acciari uncertain to play because of an illness.

“I knew I was coming at noon, but I didn’t know I was for sure playing until [about 3 o'clock], so I didn’t have much time to think about the game,” said Hayes, who arrived in Buffalo around 5 p.m. after a four-hour car ride. “But it was a ton a fun and it was a great feeling.”

Ben Kindel also scored twice, and Arturs Silovs made 26 saves for the Penguins (29-15-12), who had lost two in a row but are 7-1-1 in their past nine games.

“We talked this morning about how there’s been a lot of good since our last break. … I think we deserved to feel good going into the (Olympic) break,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse said. “We had to go in there today and earn that, and we did just that.”

Tage Thompson and Jason Zucker scored for the Sabres (32-19-6), who have lost three of four (1-2-1) following a five-game winning streak. Alex Lyon made 27 saves.

“I talked to the team after the game (and said), ‘This is how incredibly tight it’s going to be. You really can’t have games like we had.’ We weren’t sharp,” Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. “There were plays there. I mean, when you pass to a wide-open Thompson in front of the net, the puck kind of rolls. That should be in the back of the net. We missed on opportunities to make them pay.

“But where we’re at is we’ve worked hard to get where we’re at. It’s tough going into the break when you lose a game like that. It’s a bad feeling.”

Zucker gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 1:46 of the first period. He took a pass from Ryan McLeod at the blue line to the top of the left circle and beat Silovs with a wrist shot to the far side.

Hayes tied it 1-1 at 9:18 when he beat Jacob Bryson to a loose puck for a short breakaway and snapped a shot past Lyon.

“It was a great chip, great exit out of the D-zone (by defenseman Ilya Solovyov), and I was just able to get by him and I was lucky enough to put it low blocker,” he said.

Hayes then scored again to put the Penguins ahead 2-1 at 18:47. Anthony Mantha sent a no-look pass through his own legs from behind the net for Hayes low in the left circle, where he put a rising snap shot by Lyon glove side.

Kindel extended it to 3-1 at 7:44 of the second period, scoring bar down from the left circle on a 2-on-1.

Thompson scored on the power play to cut it to 3-2 at 1:55 of the third period, lifting a wrist shot short side from the goal line over Silovs’ right shoulder.

“Obviously, want to continue to get better and climb in the standings,” Thompson said. “Tonight was an opportunity to do that. It’s tough when you let something like that slip.

“That said, we still have a lot of hockey left and can’t let it affect the mind moving forward. We’ve done a great job all year just turning the page and refocusing, whether it’s a win or loss, and getting ready for the next challenge.”

Tommy Novak scored from in front to make it 4-2 at 15:33, knocking the rebound of Egor Chinakhov’s point shot past Lyon’s glove.

Kindel scored a short-handed, empty-net goal at 19:46 for the 5-2 final.

“A big penalty kill by the rest of the guys, some big blocks, and then I had the easy part,” Kindel said. “There’s a lot that goes into that. A lot of gutsy plays by the guys, so it’s a great team win.”

NOTES: Hayes is the third player in Penguins history to score multiple goals in his NHL debut, joining Jake Guentzel (two goals on Nov. 21, 2016) and Rob Brown (two goals on Oct. 21, 1987). He is also the 12th undrafted player in League history to score multiple goals in his debut (since the NHL Draft began in 1963). … Hayes and Kindel are the sixth pair of Penguins rookies to each score multiple goals in the same game.