Sabres at Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins begin life without captain Sidney Crosby and vie for their 16th consecutive victory on Tuesday, when they host the Buffalo Sabres. The Penguins became the first team in NHL history to record a perfect calendar month by winning all 15 games in March but lost Crosby to a broken jaw during a 2-0 victory over the New York Islanders on Saturday. Crosby, who is sidelined indefinitely following surgery, was named the NHL's First Star for the month on Monday.
Pittsburgh sits two victories removed from the NHL record, which was accomplished by Mario Lemieux and the 1992-93 Penguins. Standing in its way on Tuesday are the Sabres, who fell to 0-2-2 in their last four contests following Sunday's 2-0 loss to Boston. Buffalo, which has 12 games remaining, sits five points behind the eighth-place New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TSN2, ROOT Sports (Pittsburgh)
ABOUT THE SABRES (13-17-6): Ryan Miller is expected to compete in his 492nd NHL contest on Tuesday to move past six-time Vezina Trophy winner Dominik Hasek for most games played by a goaltender in franchise history. Miller fell to 5-11-3 lifetime against the Penguins after yielding four goals in a 4-3 loss on Feb. 17. Thomas Vanek collected a goal and an assist in that contest but has missed three straight games with an upper-body injury.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (28-8-0): Stud defenseman Kris Letang skated on his own Monday and is expected to do the same Tuesday morning. New acquisition Jarome Iginla was partnered with reigning Hart Trophy winner Evgeni Malkin and James Neal, while Tyler Kennedy assumed Crosby's position on a line with Pascal Dupuis and Chris Kunitz. Tomas Vokoun has registered back-to-back shutouts but is just 8-10-2 (with one tie) in his career versus Buffalo.
OVERTIME
1. Buffalo sent veteran D Robyn Regehr to Los Angeles on Monday for a second-round pick in both the 2014 and 2015 drafts. The Sabres promptly recalled C Luke Adam from Rochester of the American Hockey League.
2. Pittsburgh recalled D Robert Bortuzzo from his three-game conditioning stint with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL.
3. Buffalo LW Ville Leino is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.