But when Boychuk passed it from in front of his net to Tyler Seguin in the right circle, Rick Nash hit Sequin's stick and the puck went to McDonagh at the left point.
Instead Porter scored the first goal allowed by the Penguins in 218:48 of game time following a bizarre sequence in which Iginla broke his stick trying a slap shot from thepoint, leading to a breakout by the Sabres.
Tavares put New York back in front when a shot by Streit from the left point struck his stick and caromed past Fleury to make it 2-1 with a long-awaited, power-play goal.
But at least it has now become as much a point of honour in Salzburg to show that one is not a stick-in-the-mud, as it used to be a mark of prestige to get hold of a first-night ticket at all.