The Buffalo Sabres continued their late-season charge, defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1 at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday.
Buffalo improved to 80 points with the win, already exceeding last season's 79 points accumulated across 82 games. The victory also escalated the Sabres' winning streak to five games since the Olympic break, keeping them in second place in the Atlantic Division and ratcheting up the pressure on the Tampa Bay Lightning in the standings.
As a team, Buffalo has gone 11-2-1 over its last 14 games and has collected points in 10 straight road contests, tying the longest road point streak in franchise history. The club has racked up a 17-2-1 record over its last 20 road games.
The special teams made all the difference on Thursday. Ryan McLeod and Alex Tuch both scored short-handed goals, while Josh Norris buried a power-play chance. Owen Power also scored and recorded an assist. Mattias Samuelsson closed it out with a late empty-net goal.
McLeod's short-handed tally was his fifth of the season, giving him sole possession of the NHL lead in that category. Tuch's goal occurred during a delayed penalty situation, effectively creating another short-handed scoring play for the Sabres. Pittsburgh's only goal came short-handed as well, when Bryan Rust beat Buffalo goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
Luukkonen continued his strong stretch, stopping 26 of 27 shots. He is now 3-0-0 since the Olympic break and 10-2-1 in his last 13 decisions. With an assist, Sabres center Tage Thompson kept his career-best point streak alive at nine games.
The game featured heavy penalty action, particularly in the second period. Evgeni Malkin was assessed a five-minute major for slashing Rasmus Dahlin just 38 seconds into the period and was ejected with a game misconduct, ending his 10-game home point streak. Norris capitalized on the ensuing power play at 4:10 to give the Sabres a 2-1 lead. Pittsburgh unsuccessfully challenged the goal for goaltender interference, leaving the Penguins 0-for-7 on such challenges this season. Pittsburgh goaltender Arturs Silovs made 21 saves.
Up next, Buffalo will begin a five-game homestand Saturday against the Nashville Predators, before facing the Lightning at home on Sunday.
