The Buffalo Sabres extended their win streak to five games with a 5-1 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena, improving to 37-19-6.
Josh Norris and Owen Power each had a goal and an assist for Buffalo, while Ryan McLeod, Alex Tuch and Mattias Samuelsson also scored. Tage Thompson added an assist to extend his point streak to nine games (five goals, five assists). Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 27 saves for the Sabres, who have outscored opponents 19-8 during the streak and improved to 17-2-1 in their last 20 road games. Bryan Rust scored for Pittsburgh (31-17-13), and Arturs Silovs stopped 21 shots.
Buffalo opened the scoring when McLeod netted his NHL-leading fifth short-handed goal of the season on a breakaway at 12:00 of the first period. Rust tied it at 14:48 during a Penguins short-handed rush. The Sabres took control in the second period after Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin was ejected for slashing Rasmus Dahlin early in the frame. Norris converted on the ensuing power play at 4:10 to restore the lead. Tuch made it 3-1 at 6:18 during a delayed penalty, and Power extended the advantage to 4-1 with a wrist shot from the left circle at 10:30. Samuelsson sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 16:53 of the third period.
The Sabres return home to begin a five-game homestand Saturday at 5:30 p.m. against the Nashville Predators.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].