Sabres continue to sizzle, Malkin ejected

PITTSBURGH — This article originally appeared on PGHHockeyNOW.com.

The Buffalo Sabres (37-19-6) skated into Pittsburgh on Thursday night and made a statement, decisively beating the Penguins (31-17-13), 5-1. The Sabres have been one of the NHL’s hottest teams, going 26-5-2 since Dec. 9, the best 33-game stretch in franchise history.

They also lead the league with nine players with 30-plus points. The win gave the Sabres 31 wins, surpassing last season’s win total. Meanwhile for Pittsburgh, the loss marked the first time the Penguins have lost back-to-back games in regulation since January 10 and 11, a 2-1 loss to Calgary and a 1-0 loss at Boston.

Special teams played a big factor in the goals scored in the first period, but not in the traditional sense, as the teams tradeed short-handed goals. The Penguins got a second power play opportunity of the first period, but it would be Buffalo who would cash in shorthanded. A Ben Kindel giveaway allowed Buffalo forward Ryan McLeod (12) to dance around defenseman Kris Letang and fly into the Penguins’ zone on an uncontested breakaway. He then went forehand to backhand on Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs and slid the puck on his backhand through the five-hole of Silovs at 12:00 of the first.

Click here to read more from PGHHockeyNOW.com.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW