Penguins nail down playoff spot with 3-1 win
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Nick Bonino scored with 5:29 remaining to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night.
Sidney Crosby and Conor Sheary also scored for Pittsburgh (45-17-9), which clinched a playoff berth for the 11th consecutive season. Matt Murray made 29 saves.
Sam Reinhart scored for Buffalo (30-32-12). Robin Lehner made 31 saves and was terrific throughout. Lehner stopped three breakaways in the first two periods.
Bonino's game-winner came on a shot from the left circle. After Ian Cole's pass was blocked, Bonino picked up the puck and fired a shot through traffic to the blocker side for his 15th goal of the season.
Crobsy opened the scoring just before the end of the first period on a spectacular one-man effort. The Penguins captain picked up the puck behind his own blue line and split the Sabres defense, taking it all the way before lifting a one-handed backhand shot into the net.
Crosby's goal was his sixth in the past three games and his 11th point in the last six games.
Reinhart evened the score 2:09 into the third period. After his initial shot was blocked, his follow-up from a hard angle in the right circle went in for his 17th goal of the season.
Sheary was given credit for Pittsburgh's third goal with 3:31 remaining. The winger burst up the left wing and his ensuing rebound was put into the net by Sabres center Zemgus Girgensons.
A scary moment for the Penguins came midway through the first period when Jake Guentzel left the game after a dangerous hit to the head. Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen skated backward through the neutral zone and hit Guentzel hard when he didn't have the puck. Ristoalinen was given a five-minute major penalty for interference as well as a game misconduct.
Gunetzel initially attempted to skate to the bench before falling to the ice. He eventually made his way off with the assistance of a trainer but did not return.
NOTES: There were 11 scratches. C Evgeni Malkin, D Cameron Gaunce, LW Tom Sestito, LW Carl Hagelin and D Ron Hainsey were scratched for the Penguins. Malkin missed his third game in a row with an upper-body injury. RW Kyle Okposo, D Cody Franson, D Taylor Fedun, D Justin Falk, LW Nicolas Deslauriers and D Dmitry Kulikov were scratched for Buffalo. Okposo has missed 10 games for Buffalo with a rib injury and Kulikov (upper body) has missed nine games. ... This was the third and final meeting between the teams this season. They split the previous two encounters.