BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Avery Hayes scored twice in his NHL debut, Arturs Silovs made 26 saves and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 on Thursday night in the final game for both teams before the Olympic break.
Called up from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League with the Penguins hit by a series of injuries, Hayes tied at 1 at 9:18 of the period on his first shot on goal. He raced to beat defenseman Jacob Bryson to the puck and put a wrister past goalie Alex Lyon.
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Pittsburgh Penguins center Ben Kindel (81) ,right, celebrates his goal with center Connor Dewar (19) ,center, and defenseman Connor Clifton (75) ,left, during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Pittsburgh Penguins center Tommy Novak (18) skates in the crease past Buffalo Sabres goaltender Alex Lyon (34) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Pittsburgh Penguins center Ben Kindel (81) ,right, celebrates his goal with center Connor Dewar (19) ,center, and defenseman Connor Clifton (75) ,left, during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Pittsburgh Penguins center Tommy Novak (18) is stick checked by Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Avery Hayes (85) celebrates his goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Avery Hayes (85) skates up ice during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Hayes made it 2-1 with 1:13 left in the period, taking Anthony Mantha’s short, backward pass and knocking it in. He's the third Penguins player to score twice in his NHL debut, joining Rob Brown (two goals on Oct. 21, 1987) and Jake Guentzel (two goals on Nov. 21, 2016).
Hayes has 13 goals and 10 assists in 31 games this season in the AHL. He made his NHL debut with Blake Lizotte out for the birth of his first child, Rickard Rakell nursing a lower-body injury and Noel Acciari sidelined by an illness.
Fellow rookie Ben Kindel gave Pittsburgh a 3-1 lead at 7:44 of the second, Tommy Novak made it 4-2 with 4:29 to go in the third, and Kindel had a short-handed empty-netter with 14 seconds to go for his 14th of the season. The Penguins rebounded from a 5-4 overtime loss at the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.
Tage Thompson scored his 30th goal of the season for Buffalo. Jason Zucker also scored, and Lyon stopped 27 shots. The Sabres have lost two in a row.
Zucker opened the scoring for Buffalo at 1:46 of the first period. Thompson scored on a power play to cut it to 3-2 at 1:55 of the third.
Penguins: Host New Jersey on Thursday, Feb. 26.
Sabres: At New Jersey on Wednesday, Feb. 25.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Pittsburgh Penguins center Tommy Novak (18) skates in the crease past Buffalo Sabres goaltender Alex Lyon (34) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Pittsburgh Penguins center Ben Kindel (81) ,right, celebrates his goal with center Connor Dewar (19) ,center, and defenseman Connor Clifton (75) ,left, during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Pittsburgh Penguins center Tommy Novak (18) is stick checked by Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Avery Hayes (85) celebrates his goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Avery Hayes (85) skates up ice during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Konnor Griffin endured plenty of emotions when the 19-year-old shortstop learned the Pittsburgh Pirates were calling him up to the majors just a week into the season.
Shock was not one of them.
“I'm ready for this,” Griffin said Friday, just hours before making his major league debut against Baltimore at PNC Park.
The Pirates are betting big on it, making Griffin the first position player to arrive in the majors before his 20th birthday since Juan Soto did it in Washington in 2018.
Just 628 days after Pittsburgh selected him with the ninth pick in the 2024 first-year player draft, the athletic and mustachioed 6-foot-3 Griffin found a No. 6 jersey hanging in his locker at PNC Park and his name penciled in the seventh spot in the lineup against the Orioles.
On the surface, it seems fast. The reality is that Griffin checked every box — and checked every box quickly — while sprinting through the Pirates' system. The final steps came over the last week when he hit .438 in a handful of games for Triple-A Indianapolis.
Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly felt like Griffin was “pressing” near the end of spring training, when Griffin smashed three homers but also hit just .171. The club made Griffin one of the last cuts before the opening day roster was set. Yet rather than sulk, he headed to Triple-A, made a couple of adjustments, and saw immediate results.
“He just went right down and hit his stride and was able to reset in a couple of days,” Kelly said. “Which again, for anybody, is really impressive, especially for a 19-year-old kid whose hopes and dreams were to make the big leagues.”
That doesn't make Griffin unlike the millions of kids who pick up a bat when they're in elementary school. It's everything that has come after it, however, that has set Griffin apart. He raced through the lower levels of the minors last year, hitting 21 homers, driving in 94 runs, and stealing 65 bases while showcasing the range to play one of the game's most demanding defensive positions.
Yet it's not just the tangible on-field things that won the organization over. Griffin has long carried himself with the maturity of someone far older. He married his high school sweetheart, Dendy, over the winter. And she was the first one he told after Indianapolis manager Eric Patterson called Griffin to his hotel room in Columbus early Thursday to tell him he was heading to The Show.
The next 24 hours were a blur. From the short drive from Columbus to Pittsburgh to the scramble for the Mississippi native's family to make it to the ballpark that's tucked hard against the Allegheny River in time for Friday's first pitch.
Finally, just after noon, Griffin was able to relax. He trotted out to shortstop and took grounders, his frame and arm making him look very much the part of the role he's been preparing for since he was 5.
Griffin's skillset has drawn comparisons to the likes of Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., heady territory for someone less than two years removed from his high school graduation. Still, he's not getting ahead of himself.
“Today is the first day of carving out a legacy that I want to build,” he said. "And I’m ready to do that and try to be right up there with those top guys.”
Griffin is the latest in a string of high-profile arrivals in Pittsburgh, from reigning Cy Young winner Paul Skenes to rookie right-hander Bubba Chandler to catcher Henry Davis.
The future that's been talked about since general manager Ben Cherington was hired in late 2019 is finally arriving. And perhaps it's telling of how far the club has come that Griffin is joining a roster that has undergone a significant upgrade in recent months with the additions of All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe, All-Star first baseman/outfielder Ryan O'Hearn and veteran designated hitter Marcell Ozuna.
“This team is loaded,” Griffin said. “I get to come in here and just be a piece of this puzzle.”
Perhaps a very big piece. For a very long time. The Pirates and Griffin have engaged in talks about a contract extension that would lock him up for most of the next decade.
Griffin demurred when asked about it on Friday, though he made his intentions very clear.
“All I’m going to say is, I want to be a Pirate for a long time,” he said. "This is a special place and I’m thankful to be here.”
Perhaps most importantly because it means he can shed the “top prospect” label and stop focusing so much on his individual development and instead turn his attention to helping the Pirates make a playoff push for the first time since the mid-2010s.
“Now it’s time to take all the skills that I’ve learned,” he said, "all the adjustments I’ve made. It’s time to go put them on the field and go win some games.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin, right, follows manager Don Kelly, center, and owner Bob Nutting into a meeting with reporters before making his Major League Baseball debut in the Pirates' home-opener against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin meets with reporters before making his Major League Baseball debut in the Pirates' home-opener against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin meets with reporters before making his Major League Baseball debut in the Pirates' home-opener against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
