The Sabres traveled into Pittsburgh on Saturday night with the task of slowing down the hottest offensive teams in the league. Unfortunately they were unable to accomplish this feat, being shutout by the Penguins, 5 to 0. Through twelve games this season, the Sabres have been shutout five times.
The top lines for the Penguins were in full force tonight; Chris Kunitz (2-1), Patric Hornqvist (1-1), Sidney Crosby (0-3), and Evgeni Malkin (1-2) all had multi-point games, while Blake Comeau, Pascal Dupuis, Christian Ehrhoff and Kris Letang all found themselves as beneficiaries of the offensive explosion with a point each.
The Sabres continued to struggle with special teams tonight, allowing the Penguins to score three powerplay goals on four opportunities. This is no shock, as Pittsburgh entered tonight ranked first on powerplay conversion percentage at 39.5%, thirteen points higher than the next team.
Buffalo usually relies on the goal tending of Jhonas Enroth to keep them in games. Unfortunately, no one, including Enroth was having a good night. Enroth made 29 saves on 34 shots, good for a .853 save percentage. The majority of his struggle matched that of the team in front of him; special teams. Enroth only faced 5 shots on the four power play opportunities that the Penguins were afforded, allowing three goals
The Sabres will need to shake off this game and move on quickly as they host the Detroit Red Wings tomorrow for a 5:00 pm puck drop. That game will be broadcast on MSG.