Penguins rally from 3-0 deficit to beat Sabres
PITTSBURGH -- Conor Sheary scored with 2:56 left in regulation as the Pittsburgh Penguins erased a three-goal deficit Sunday for a 4-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres at PPG Paints Arena.
Justin Schultz set up Sheary's goal on a back-door play and finished with a goal and two assists. Evgeni Malkin added a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh (40-16-8).
Buffalo (27-27-12) took a 3-0 lead in the first period but lost for sixth time in seven games (1-3-3) as its playoff hopes continue to dwindle.
Goaltender Matt Murray started for the 17th time in the Penguins' past 21 games but was replaced by Marc-Andre Fleury after giving up three goals on 21 shots in the first period and his team trailing 3-0. Fleury (16-8-5) stopped all 28 shots he faced.
Anders Nilsson (9-9-4) stopped 42 of 45 Penguins shots.
The Sabres' top line struck for the opening goal. Ryan O'Reilly, off of assists from linemates Brian Gionta and Evander Kane and after he forced a Pittsburgh turnover, lifted the puck under the crossbar from below the left circle for a 1-0 lead at 6:19 of the first.
After Pittsburgh had a close call ruled no goal on a review, Gionta gave Buffalo a 2-0 lead with a power-play goal at 14:53 of the first. An errant clearing attempt by goaltender Murray led to Gionta converting a feed from Matt Moulson.
Jack Eichel increased the lead to 3-0 at 18:07 of the first when he rifled a high shot past Murray. That extended Eichel's point streak to a career-high 10 games and gave him at least one point against every NHL opponent.
Malkin's burst led to the Penguins' first goal. He flew down the right wing with the puck and sent a cross-ice pass to Phil Kessel. Schultz, in the slot, one-timed a pass from Kessel. The puck ricocheted off the skate of Buffalo's Justin Falk, off of Schultz's skate and past Nilsson to make it 3-1 at 7:45 of the second.
Malkin scored a power-play goal at 13:42 of the second to pull Pittsburgh within 3-2. From the right circle, his one timer from Schultz skipped over Nilsson's glove.
Jake Guentzel tied it for Pittsburgh 3-3 at 16:14 of the third when he tipped the puck past Nilsson.
NOTES: Pittsburgh D Kris Letang missed his fifth straight game because of an upper body injury. He is no longer day-to-day and his situation "is a little more complicated," according to coach Mike Sullivan, leading to speculation he is dealing with concussion symptoms. ... Sabres C Ryan O'Reilly has goals in three games in a row. ... Buffalo D Dmitry Kulikov, who left Saturday's game against Tampa Bay with an unspecified injury, did not play. He was replaced in the lineup by D Justin Falk, who had been a healthy scratch the previous seven games. ... Sabres RW and leading scorer Kyle Okposo missed his second straight game because of a rib injury and is out on a week-to-week basis. ... The Penguins' healthy scratches were RW Carter Rowney and D Derrick Pouliot; Buffalo had no healthy scratches. ... Pittsburgh embarks on a season-long five-game road trip through western Canada and Philadelphia before its next home game March 17 against New Jersey. ... The Sabres play five of their next six games on the road.