BUFFALO, N.Y. — One more game until the nearly three-week Olympic break. The Pittsburgh Penguins (28-14-12) are trending sideways over the last two games following their torried 13-2-2 run coming out of the holiday break. The Penguins visit the charging Buffalo Sabres (32-18-6) at Key Bank Center Thursday.
The puck drops just after 7 p.m.
The Penguins are slight underdogs on the FanDuel NHL moneyline. Bettors are split, giving the Penguins +108 to win outright, but the Sabres are -130. Both teams have picked up considerably in their Stanley Cup odds.
The Penguins have struggled over their last seven periods, since giving up four goals to the New York Rangers in the third period Saturday. The Penguins were not good in a 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators Monday and couldn’t close against the New York Islanders in a 5-4 OT loss Tuesday.
Stuart Skinner had his first rough game with the Penguins Tuesday. He allowed a couple of softies, including the game-tying goal by Adam Pelech on a long wrist shot.
Penguins winger Bryan Rust returned to the Penguins lineup after serving a three-game suspension and scored. So, too, did Egor Chinakhov, Anthony Mantha, and Justin Brazeau.
However, it wasn’t enough as the Penguins made a mistake in overtime. All three Penguins went low in the zone, and Bo Horvat beat Skinner on a breakaway for the OT winner.
The Penguins remain in second place in the Metro Division, but have just a three-point lead with one game in hand on the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are the first team outside the playoff seeds.
It seems Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula has awakened a sleeping giant. Buffalo is 20-3-1 since ownership fired general manager Kevyn Adams and replaced him with Jarmo Kekalainen.
Buffalo has risen from the bottom of the Eastern Conference to solidly in a wild-card spot and is chasing the top three of the highly competitive Atlantic Division. Buffalo has the third-best winning percentage in the division.
Buffalo’s own hot streak is trending a little bit sideways, at least in terms of results. They’re 1-1-1 in their last three, including an OT loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning Tuesday.
Mattias Samuelsson had a pair of goals, and Josh Doan scored the other, but Colten Ellis stopped 31 of 35 for the loser point.
How to Watch
TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh
Radio: 105.9 The X
Expected Penguins Lines
Rickard Rakell-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Igor Chinakhov-Tommy Novak-Evgeni Malkin
Anthony Mantha-Ben Kindel-Justin Brazeau
Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari
Defense
Brett Kulak-Ryan Shea
Ilya Solovyov-Connor Clifton
Parker Wotherspoon-Erik Karlsson
Goalie: Arturs Silovs, expected
Expected Sabres Lines
Peyton Krebs-Tage Thompson-Alex Tuch
Jason Zucker-Ryan McLeod-Jack Quinn
Josh Doan-Noah Ostlund-Konsta Helenius
Isak Rosen-Tyson Kozak-Beck Malenstyn
Defense
Mattias Samuelsson-Rasmus Dahlin
Bo Byram-Owen Power
Zach Metsa-Jacob Bryson
Goalie: Alex Lyon, possible
Special Teams
Penguins power play: 26.4%, 3rd. Penguins penalty kill: 84.2%, 3rd.
Sabres power play: 20.1%, 16th. Sabres penalty kill: 82.1%, 9th.
Penguins Game Notes
With a goal Tuesday, Anthony Mantha hit the 20-goal plateau for the fourth-time in his career.
The Penguins have wins in three of their last four games against the Sabres (3-1-0), and are 15-6-1 in their last 22 games against Buffalo.
The Penguins also have points in five-straight road games (4-0-1) and are 7-1-1 in their last nine road games.
The Penguins have killed off 35 of their last 37 penalties over the past eight games (94.6%).
Sidney Crosby has seven multi-point efforts in his last 17 games and is now one such instance shy of tying both Mark Messier and Marcel Dionne for the third most multi-point games in NHL history.
Egor Chinakhov has 11 points (8-3-11) in 17 games, helping the Penguins go 11-3-3 with him in the lineup. That equates to a 38-goal pace over a full season.
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Categorized:Penguins Pregame