In Pittsburgh, Jack Eichel struck twice on the power play and the Buffalo Sabres scored three times in the fist period en route to a 5-2 win over the Penguins on Saturday afternoon.
“Just really pleased with the four lines, six [defensemen], goaltending effort,” Sabres coach Ralph Krueger said. “All the way through the lineup, everybody contributed today. It’s an excellent reaction in a very tough building to react in. We’re really pleased with the way the game went.”
Carter Hutton made 41 saves to earn the win.
Evgeni Malkin scored both Pens goals.
“I’m both disappointed and concerned,” Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said. “I think we’re saying the right things, but our actions have to follow our words. We come out in the first period, we play a high-risk game. You can’t win in this league if you play a high-risk game. We were high-risk tonight.”
Zemgus Girgensons, Sam Reinhart and Eichel scored in the opening frame.
“I thought we came out hard,” Eichel said. “I thought we had a good start. Penalty kill was good. [Hutton] was stellar. I thought we played really desperate. We got rewarded. That’s a really good team. It’s a good way to play there. We smothered them, we backpressured. We played a good team game on the road.”
Jeff Skinner also scored for the Sabres.
“It’s been awhile for me, obviously,” Skinner said. “Whenever it’s been awhile, it’s good to get one. So just happy I could contribute to the win.”
[WATCH: All Sabres vs. Penguins highlights]
Tristan Jarry made 21 saves in the loss.
“We weren’t ready,” Malkin said. “We haven’t played great the last, I think, 10 games. Same mistakes. … We try to play easy. It’s not the right way. It’s like 20 games left, everyone is trying to fight to the playoffs.”
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