PITTSBURGH – Buffalo Sabres winger Beck Malenstyn figures after his recent highlight-reel goal, about 20 to 25 people contacted him to share their excitement about the prettiest of his 14 NHL goals.

“I think they were probably just as surprised as I and everybody else in the building were at the time,” Malenstyn told the Times Herald following Tuesday’s practice in KeyBank Center.

While 6-foot-3, 209-pound Malenstyn chips in the occasional goal, his bread and butter is playing a hard, heavy game. No one expected him to score a goal that ranks among this season’s slickest.

But late in the second period of Sunday afternoon’s 4-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, he undressed star Sebastian Aho above the left circle before zooming down the slot and beating goalie Frederik Andersson.

“Getting that depth of scoring, it’s important, and it’s fun for the team, too,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said following the game. “I mean, those guys on the bench were so happy for him. It was like, ‘Wow.’”

Malenstyn, whose Sabres play the Penguins tonight, said he wants “to sprinkle in those little moments of offensive creativity and a little bit more skill.”

“Just being able to take advantage of a few more opportunities, right?” he said.

Over his three seasons as an NHL regular, Malenstyn, 26, has seized his other opportunities, developing into a physical power forward who’s a mainstay on the third or fourth line.

“That’s going to be responsible defensively, good on the penalty kill, willing to block shots,” he said. “And then I think that’s been a huge part of my game that has really always been there that I’ve tried to just slowly evolve.”

Right now, his 70 hits lead the Sabres and ranked 15th in the NHL entering Tuesday’s games. His 25 blocked shots rank first among forwards and fourth on the team. Meanwhile, the Sabres’ penalty killing ranked first in the league entering Tuesday’s games.

“His skating, he can get there for first touch,” Ruff said Tuesday. “If we need energy, he can track anybody down, get a big hit for us. His penalty killing has been good. He’s a big part of the reason that we’re at where we’re at with out penalty killing.

“Part of his penalty killing is his shot blocking, that fearless mentality. So he fits the role we have him in.”

Malenstyn believes his consistent, rugged style allows him to create space that could generate more scoring chances.

“But you’re maybe not always in the mental mindset to take advantage of it,” he said. “So that’s an area where I’m just trying to grow, trying to play consistent every single night, starting with speed, physicality, and then just kind of letting it grow from there.”

Malenstyn, who arrived from the Washington Capitals in a trade during the 2024 NHL Draft, said he has always embraced the physical aspect of hockey.

Growing up, he said he was the kid who wanted to start hitting as soon as the rules allowed it. He was already playing running back and linebacker in football, so he wanted to bring that style to the ice.

“It’s always just kind of been who I was,” he said. “I really enjoyed that part of the game, the physicality, the battle, the speed, and, at times, it probably deterred me from working on my skills, maybe because it was just fun to play that way, play heavy, play hard.”

Still, Malenstyn’s physical game has helped him at each level of hockey. In junior, the AHL and NHL, he has never had to change his game to earn an opportunity.

Some players, of course, possess loads of skill but struggle to adapt and carve out roles as checkers in the big leagues.

“That’s a hard transition for them, whereas I’ve kind of had to work the opposite way,” said Malenstyn, who often plays along side center Peyton Kreb. “When I started out, it was very clear to me what my role was going to be at any level, and they just wanted me to do that.”

– Sabres center Josh Norris, out the last 21 games after suffering an upper-body injury opening night, practiced Tuesday alongside Zach Benson and Noah Ostlund. He also took some reps on the top power-play unit.

However, Ruff said Norris, who began practicing last week, won’t play against the Penguins.

“Not quite ready,” Ruff said. “But just trying to keep progressing him.”

Ruff said Norris could return this weekend. The Sabres play the New Jersey Devils on Friday afternoon at home and the Minnesota Wild on the road Saturday.