Penguins at Sabres
THE STORY: The Pittsburgh Penguins will be seeking a weekend road sweep when they visit the reeling Buffalo Sabres in a nationally televised game Sunday afternoon. The Penguins have to like their odds after winning seven of the last eight meetings against the Sabres, including an 8-3 thrashing of Buffalo at home in December. The Sabres had shown signs of life coming out of the All-Star break by winning four of five (three in shootouts), but they have gone back into a tailspin with four consecutive losses.
TV: 12:30 p.m. ET, NBC
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (33-20-5): Pittsburgh’s streak of not allowing a power-play goal this month ended against Philadelphia on Saturday, but the Penguins still came out ahead by scoring two shorthanded goals on the same sequence, including a 5-on-3 situation. Matt Cooke scored with Pittsburgh two men down, part of his two-goal, three-point game. Jordan Staal had the other shorthanded tally. James Neal reached the 30-goal plateau for the first time and also surpassed his career high with his 56th point.
ABOUT THE SABRES (24-27-7): One of the few things Buffalo had been able to do right this season is beat Montreal, and even that ended in a shootout loss to the Canadiens on Friday night. It was the third straight home loss for the Sabres, who are tied with Carolina for last place in the Eastern Conference. “It's pretty embarrassing,” goaltender Ryan Miller said. “There's no other word for it, really.” Buffalo has been outscored 17-7 during its four-game skid.
OVERTIME:
1. Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby skated Friday. He said he’s improving but still is dealing with concussion-like symptoms that have sidelined him since Dec. 5.
2. The Sabres have surrendered five power-play goals in 12 chances over the past three games.
3. Staal was fined $2,500 by the NHL for boarding Philadelphia defenseman Braydon Coburn on Saturday.