Ex-Penguins winger Conor Sheary heating up for Sabres
BUFFALO, N.Y. – When the Pittsburgh Penguins visit the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night, the most dangerous scorer on the other bench might be a familiar face.
With Jack Eichel serving the second game of a two-game suspension Thursday night and Jeff Skinner slumping, Conor Sheary is Buffalo’s leading scorer in the month of March with three goals and five points in six games.
Sheary had two goals and an assist when the Penguins dropped a 4-3 overtime decision in Buffalo on March 1.
“He’s very dangerous,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s a good player. He’s a real good player. He scored a lot of goals when he played for us. I think Conor’s biggest strength is his quickness and his tenacity and his ability to force turnovers. He’s got a real good stick. He anticipates well and he has the ability to finish. We’ve got to certainly be respectful of his speed.”
When they’re not facing Sheary, the Penguins are rooting for him to do well.
The fourth-round pick the Penguins acquired from the Sabres in the Sheary trade in June will become a third-rounder if he records 20 goals or 40 points this season. Coming into Thursday, he has 12 goals and 31 points.
Jonathan Bombulie is the TribLive assistant sports editor. A Greensburg native, he was a hockey reporter for two decades, covering the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for 17 seasons before joining the Trib in 2015 and covering the Penguins for four seasons, including Stanley Cup championships in 2016-17. He can be reached at jbombulie@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.