Sabres forward Thomas Vanek was the last to wear the full head sleeve that stretched over his mouth in warmups but was pulled down to his chin by the third period. Penguins defenseman Darryl Sydor shed his visor.

When the scheduled buzzer sounded to divide the third period in half, it didn’t stop a rush. The Penguins peeled back and essentially took a knee where Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly did many times in the glory days of the Bills, letting the final seconds tick off before the teams switched sides at the 10-minute mark.

The final mid-period Zamboni run took longer than the others as the second cleaning machine was blocked in the tunnel by a chunk of ice. The wind picked up, the temperature dropped and the players skated and stretched to try to keep warm.

Momentum changed with the weather that featured snow through the first 10 minutes, benign cloud cover through the opening intermission and a wintery mix during the second. The stadium lights took effect as the sky darkened and provided a unique brightness.

As though they were trudging from home to the frozen pond, each team plodded down mats from the tunnel to the ice — stopping first to peel off their skate guards. Moms weren’t there to call these grown kids back inside, and Bettman didn’t do it, either.

The only thing that got in their way was a buildup of snow that held up the movement of pucks and skates.

Armstrong provided lightning with his quick goal, with help from the snow. The puck came to a stop in the neutral zone near center ice, and Crosby carried it into the Sabres end.

He got off a shot that Miller stopped, before the snow put another hold on the puck in front. It sat there for Armstrong to punch in his sixth goal and Pittsburgh’s quickest of the season.

Three trouble spots cropped up along the wall in front of the players’ benches, two in the zone Buffalo defended in the first period. Before the Penguins’ third power play of the frame, with 7:43 remaining, the ice crew did patch work that caused a delay for several minutes.

Notes: Armstrong’s goal was the quickest scored against Miller in his NHL career, topping Joe Nieuwendyk’s tally 32 seconds into Buffalo’s 2-1 loss to Florida on New Year’s Day 2005. ... Campbell’s goal was his second in four games and fourth overall. Armstrong has scored in three straight.

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