Pittsburgh, Pa. (WGR 550) - The Sabres ran into a brick wall on Saturday night, as Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry shut out Buffalo for the second time in his career in a 4-0 win for Pittsburgh at PPG Paints Arena.
The opening period was almost a scoreless one, until Penguins star forward Evgeni Malkin scored from a seemingly impossible angle below the goal line. Malkin banked the game's first goal in off the head of goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with just a minute to play in the frame to give Pittsburgh the 1-0 edge.
After buzzing, but being denied to begin the second, the Penguins then tacked on a second goal in the late stages of the second period. Drew O'Connor's wrist shot leaked through Luukkonen for the forward's first goal of the 2023-24 season.
Pittsburgh's lead swelled to three goals just 27 seconds into the final period of regulation.
Still owning about a minute of rollover power play time, offseason acquisition Erik Karlsson potted his third goal as a member of the Penguins. Forwards Reilly Smith and Malkin aided the veteran defenseman in making it 3-0, Pittsburgh.
Karlsson added a second goal in the late stages of the affair with an empty-net goal to cap the scoring at 4-0.
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SCORING SUMMARY:
First Period:
BUF: NONE
PIT: 19:01 - Evgeni Malkin (8) (Ryan Graves)
Second Period:
BUF: NONE
PIT: 16:24 - Drew O'Connor (1) (Lars Eller, Ryan Graves)
Third Period:
BUF: NONE
PIT: 0:27 - Erik Karlsson (3) PPG (Reilly Smith, Evgeni Malkin); 18:11 - Erik Karlsson (4) ENG (Jake Guentzel)
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Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Tristan Jarry - PIT
2.) Erik Karlsson - PIT
3.) Evgeni Malkin - PIT
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What's next:
The Sabres return home to host the Atlantic Division-leading Boston Bruins on Tuesday night for a 7 p.m. EST faceoff at KeyBank Center. Hear all the action on the radio home of the Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550 - with pregame coverage starting at 6 p.m. EST with Mike Schopp and the Bulldog.