Sabres at Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins go after their league-leading 27th home victory before embarking on a challenging five-game road trip as they host the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday. The Penguins snapped a two-game slide with a 5-2 triumph over Tampa Bay on Friday as Evgeni Malkin scored twice and continue their battle with Columbus and the New York Rangers for second place in the Metropolitan Division.
Pittsburgh, which begins its trek on Wednesday in Winnipeg, put together a solid effort Friday as it scored the game’s final three goals to improve to 26-4-3 on home ice. “Just give the guys credit. They were locked in,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan told reporters. “They’re all such great players. When they take what the game gives them and they don’t force it, they see the plays that are there, and I thought that’s what went on.” Buffalo is in dire need of a victory after recording just one in its last six games (1-3-2) and sits five points out of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Jack Eichel notched an assist to extend his point streak to nine games Saturday as the Sabres fell 2-1 in a shootout against Tampa Bay.
TV: 5 p.m. ET, NHL Network, MSG (Buffalo), ROOT (Pittsburgh)
ABOUT THE SABRES (27-26-12): Eichel has collected two goals and 10 assists during his run and has registered 41 points overall – two behind team co-leaders Ryan O’Reilly and Kyle Okposo. O’Reilly scored against the Lightning to give himself five points in his last three games while Okposo is expected to miss his second straight contest Sunday after suffering a rib injury in Thursday's win over Arizona. Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, who has been plagued by injuries all season, left Saturday’s game with an upper-body ailment after a collision behind the net and is questionable.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (39-16-8): Malkin's goals on Friday - his third and fourth over the last five contests - came in his 700th NHL game. The 30-year-old Russian has recorded 28 tallies and 65 points - putting him second on the team in both categories behind captain Sidney Crosby (34, 69), who notched two assists on Friday. Mark Streit scored the game-winning goal in his debut with Pittsburgh on Friday, and the veteran defenseman is needed with three regulars on the blue line - Olli Maatta (hand), Trevor Daley (knee) and Kris Letang (upper body) - out with injuries.
OVERTIME
1. Pittsburgh D Justin Schultz has recorded a career-high 41 points and needs one goal to match the career best of 11 he scored with Edmonton in 2013-14.
2. Buffalo D Rasmus Ristolainen notched his team-leading 35th assist Saturday and is one away from his second straight 40-point season.
3. The Sabres edged the Penguins 2-1 in a shootout on Nov. 19, snapping a nine-game losing streak in the all-time series.