The Buffalo Sabres continued to roll on home ice, flattening the Pittsburgh Penguins 7-3 in the finale of a brief two-game homestand at Key Bank Center on Thursday. The game featured a five-goal Buffalo offensive outburst that chased Pittsburgh starting goalie Tristan Jarry, the third win in a row from veteran goalie James Reimer, and contributions from Sabres youngsters getting an opportunity in the final month of the season.

Jiri Kulich scored the game-winner and added a second tally in the middle frame, fourth liner Tyson Kozak scored his third goal of the year and added a helper on Alex Tuch’s 28th goal of the year, and rookie Isak Rosen notched his first NHL point, assisting on Mattias Samuelsson’s fourth goal of the year. Rosen, who leads the AHL Rochester Americans with 27 goals, has been recalled on numerous occasions this season, but really has not been given much of a chance to make an impact with the big club, but on Thursday he played 19 shifts alongside Peyton Krebs and Tuch, and registered an assist in his 12th NHL game.

"I think Rosen made two or three plays that we haven't seen. I thought you skated well, and there was a lot to like about his game," Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said after the game. "I look at the play he made with maybe three or four minutes left, a play on the wall where he spun around and got a great exit to our guy in the middle of the ice. That's a play that says to me that he's committed to making the right play and feels comfortable with where that guy was on his back and to protect it and get it in the right place."

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The 22-year-old winger will have a large role for the Amerks in the Calder Cup Playoffs, but the Sabres will be looking for Rosen to show he is capable of stepping up in the final 11 games of the regular season to show that he can earn a spot on the NHL roster next year.

The club practiced on Friday before heading to Philadelphia for the first of a three-game road trip against the Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday afternoon. Buffalo is playing back-to-back matinees and will take on Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Sunday, which means that starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will see his first action since a 4-1 loss to Minnesota last Saturday.

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The Buffalo Sabres have announced that forward Josh Dunne has been re-assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rochester Americans. 

Dunne was just called up by the Sabres on March 25. Now, after a few days on the Sabres' roster, the 26-year-old forward is heading back to Rochester. 

Dunne played in the Sabres' March 27 contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins during his call-up. In the matchup, the 6-foot-4 forward had a minus-1 in 6:55 of ice time. 

Dunne has appeared in two games this season with the Sabres, posting zero points, five hits, and a minus-3 rating. With the Amerks this season, he has nine goals, 26 points, 44 penalty minutes, and a plus-11 rating in 58 contests. 

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ST. LOUIS -- The Jimmy Snuggerud watch, or when he will turn pro, is officially on for the St. Louis Blues.

The end result for the No. 23 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft wasn't what the forward envisioned when he returned to the University of Minnesota for his junior season, but Thursday's surprising 5-4 overtime loss to Massachusetts in the first round of the Fargo (N.D.) Regional ended the Gophers' -- and Snuggerud's -- season sooner than many, including themselves, had expected.

Now becomes the question of when -- not if -- will he sign his first pro contract and how quickly will he join the Blues?

Could it be as early as today? And will he be in Denver for Saturday's 3:30 p.m. game against the Colorado Avalanche and be in uniform? 

That's a lot to ask at this point, but it's not totally out of the realm of possibility since both general manager Doug Armstrong and GM-to-be Alexander Steen were in attendance to see the Blues' latest in high-end prospects.

Snuggerud scored twice, once to put the Golden Gophers ahead 1-0 in the first period, then again late in regulation to tie the game 4-4; he finished the season with 51 points (24 goals, 27 assists) in 40 games and 135 points (66 goals, 69 assists) in 119 games spanning three seasons.

Here's the point the Blues (39-28-7), who have won eight straight and are 15-2-2 the past 19 games, have to address: how do they handle the utilization of Snuggerud if/when he joins?

Do they insert him into the lineup immediately, or do they take how they're going with the Dalibor Dvorsky (No. 10 pick, 2023) route?

You see what the Blues are doing with Dvorsky, who did make his NHL debut last Sunday in a 4-1 win against the Nashville Predators. They played him, then have kept him on the sidelines the past two games to watch, grow and learn what being an NHL pro is all about.

Here's what Blues coach Jim Montgomery said on that on Thursday:

"Every day he can grow, he’s so young and learning just how to travel on the road, what this building looks like, how do you get here,” Montgomery said. “All those little things and then the extra work he gets to do and the pace of our practices is really going to benefit him.

“(He's) very inquisitive. He has a thirst for knowledge. It’s awesome.”

It would be very tempting to take Snuggerud and insert him and his dangerous offensive prowess, and his most dangerous attribute being his shot, into the lineup if the Blues were just plodding along. But they're not plodding along. They're roaring like a freight train, and will that mess with the chemistry in the room with the guys that have gotten them to this point if someone comes out and Snuggerud goes in? And how will the on-ice chemistry make an immediate impact without the 20-year-old (who will turn 21 on June 1) having any ice time with the current players?

These are all tough decisions that need to be made, and even though the Blues would be burning the first year of Snuggerud's entry-level deal when he signs once he plays, that will not influence whether/when he plays or not this season.