Penguins at Sabres
Superstar captain Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins traditionally have had the Buffalo Sabres' number even though they have lost both encounters this season. The Penguins, who are 14-0-3 in their last 17 meetings with Buffalo, answered a 4-3 defeat to the Sabres on March 1 by winning five of their next six contests heading into Thursday's tilt at KeyBank Center.
Crosby scored twice in Tuesday's 5-3 triumph over Washington to boost his point total to 29 (10 goals, 19 assists) in his last 16 games for the Penguins, who reside four points behind the Metropolitan Division-leading Capitals. The two-time Hart Trophy recipient has 20 goals and 39 assists in 38 games versus Buffalo, including one of each in the previous meeting. Former Penguins forward Conor Sheary capped a two-goal performance in that contest, but he and his mates have been shut out in back-to-back outings as the Sabres have lost 11 of their last 13 (2-9-2). "If you have zero goals, you can always do more. We'll keep working on it," said Jeff Skinner (team-leading 36 goals), who has gone 12 games without finding the back of the net.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Pittsburgh, Sportsnet, MSG-B (Buffalo)
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (38-23-9): Evgeni Malkin became the fifth active player to reach 1,000 points and 88th overall after setting up a pair of power-play goals on Tuesday. "It's like a little bit slow but it's finally over, 1,000. I breathe normally," said the 2012 Hart Trophy recipient, who has three assists in two meetings with Buffalo this season to boost his career point total to 49 (15 goals, 34 assists) in 38 encounters. Jake Guentzel, who scored in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Sabres on Oct. 19, netted his team-best 35th goal and seventh in eight outings against the Capitals.
ABOUT THE SABRES (30-30-9): Phil Housley is hoping the youth movement provides a spark to his ailing offense as the coach paired the trio of Casey Mittlestadt, Alexander Nylander and Tage Thompson on the same line in Wednesday's practice. "I really liked Tage's game. I thought Mittelstadt attacked the game. Alex, as the game wore on, got more comfortable and had a couple good looks," Housley said. "... I really liked what they brought. They were creating, they used their speed, they were attacking the game. We need more of it." Sam Reinhart, whose 58 points are tied for second-best on the team, has been held off the scoresheet in five straight games.
OVERTIME
1. Buffalo captain Jack Eichel (club-best 47 assists, 72 points) will serve the second contest of his two-game suspension on Thursday.
2. Pittsburgh G Matt Murray has yielded just 17 goals on 263 shots en route to posting a 6-1-1 mark in his last eight contests.
3. Buffalo's last regulation victory over Pittsburgh was a 4-2 triumph on April 23, 2013, while its previous home regulation win versus the Penguins was a 6-2 decision on Feb. 19, 2012.