It was another dreadful night for the Buffalo Sabres. The first period was pretty uneventful so we’ll just get right into the collapse in the second period.
The Penguins got on the first on the power play. Sidney Crosby made a beautiful pass across the ice to Phil Kessel and he deposited the puck into a wide open net.
Jeff Skinner and Conor Sheary both had good scoring chances, but were unable to beat Casey DeSmith. Those two chances amounted to the Sabres only legitimate scoring threats in the period.
Pittsburgh increased their lead to two in the middle of the period. Evgeni Malkin did a lap around the Sabres defensive zone before finding Brian Dumoulin wide open. He wristed a shot by Carter Hutton to make it 2-0.
Near the end of the period the Penguins put the final nail in the coffin. They ran almost the same exact play they scored on with their first power play goal. This time, however, Kessel’s shot was deflected and Patric Hornqvist gave his team a 3-0 lead after 40 minutes.
The Penguins would outplay the Sabres again in the third period and add two more goals to their total on the night. Nick Bjugstad would score on a misplayed puck by Matt Hunwick and Zach Trotman added the Pens third power play goal late.
Another embarrassing game. Another game without a goal.
Final: Penguins 5, Sabres 0
Shots on Goal: Penguins 28 | Sabres 26
Sabres Goal Scorers: None
Penguins Goal Scorers: Phil Kessel (24) (PPG), Brian Dumoulin (3), Patric Hornqvist (17) (PPG), Nick Bjugstad (11), and Zach Trotman (5) (PPG)
Three Stars of the Game
1. Sidney Crosby (2 A)
2. Casey DeSmith (26 saves on 26 shots)
3. Phil Kessel (1 G, 1 A)