Balanced effort helps Pens continue mastery of Sabres
PITTSBURGH -- Five different players scored as the Pittsburgh Penguins won their season-high fourth straight game Saturday night with a 5-1 rout of the Buffalo Sabres at PPG Paints Arena.
Pittsburgh (15-10-3) received goals from Evgeni Malkin, Carl Hagelin, Patric Hornqvist, Phil Kessel and Sidney Crosby to produce a 15-game point streak (14-0-1) and eight-game home win streak against Buffalo, which last beat the Penguins on April 23, 2013.
The Sabres (6-17-4), who lost their fourth straight game, ended a goal drought of 230:33 when Jason Pominville scored in the third period. The goal was not nearly enough as the sweep in the home-and-home set with Pittsburgh left them with a 1-9-2 mark in their past 12. Buffalo had been shut out in its previous three games.
Pittsburgh rookie goaltender Tristan Jarry, playing on consecutive nights, stopped 32 shots while Buffalo's Chad Johnson made 24 saves.
Pittsburgh couldn't get much going on three power plays in the first -- with a total of two shots -- but got an even-strength goal at 18:44 for a 1-0 lead.
Malkin, on a two-on-one with Kessel, kept the puck and flipped it over sprawling Sabres defenseman Marco Scandella and past Johnson.
Hagelin pumped his fists in apparent relief when he scored just his second goal of the season and first since Oct. 17, a 19-game drought, for a 2-0 Pittsburgh lead. He patiently dragged the puck across the top of the crease before lifting it over Johnson's right pad from a sharp angle.
The Penguins' power play got on track late in the second, when a pass from Crosby glanced in off of Hornqvist with one minute left in the period to make it 3-0.
That gave Hornqvist 10 goals, a five-game point streak and nine points in nine games. The assist extended Crosby's point streak to six games.
Pominville converted a pass from behind the net by Jack Eichel to pull Buffalo to within 3-1 at 11:18 of the third, the Sabres' first goal since Kyle Okposo scored with 51 seconds remaining in regulation Nov. 24.
Kessel scored one of his signature goals -- from the right circle off the rush -- to make it 4-1 at 13:14 of the third. He leads Pittsburgh with 12 goals.
Crosby added an empty-netter with 1:02 remaining.
NOTES: Buffalo recalled RW Hudson Fasching from Rochester of the American Hockey League. He replaced LW Matt Moulson in the lineup. ... Buffalo D Josh Gorges replaced D Victor Antipin in the lineup. ... Sabres D Marco Scandella played in his 400th NHL game. ... The contest kicked off a season-high five-game homestand for the Penguins. ... Neither club held a morning skate.