The Pittsburgh Penguins (14-8-4) will be looking to add to their winning run when they head to face the Buffalo Sabres (12-13-1) at KeyBank Center on Friday. Pittsburgh is coming off a 4-1 win over the Blue Jackets on Tuesday, their third consecutive win. The Penguins committed five penalties in the game, though they held Columbus without a power play goal.
Sidney Crosby led the Penguins with two goals. Tristan Jarry had a great performance with 38 saves (.974%) in the win. Buffalo beat the Blue Jackets 9-4 on Wednesday. Tage Thompson scored five times to lead the Sabres. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen only stopped 20 of 24 shots (.833%).
HEAD TO HEAD
The Sabres won the first meeting between the teams this season, a 6-3 victory in November. Five players had two points for Buffalo. Evgeni Malkin led Pittsburgh with two points (0G 2A). Eric Comrie got the win despite allowing three goals on 21 shots (.857%).
FACING OFF
Pittsburgh is averaging 3.38 goals per game for the season, 11th in the NHL, and they are taking on a Sabres team that is allowing 3.69 goals a game (28th). Meanwhile, Buffalo has found the net 4.00 times a game on average, first in the league, and the Penguins are allowing opponents to score 3.00 goals per game (11th).
The Sabres’ 29.00% power play percentage is the third-best in the league, while the Penguins rank 26th with a conversion rate of 19.05%. While strong on the power play, Buffalo has been poor at penalty killing, as the home team owns the league’s fifth-lowest PK% at 71.26%. Pittsburgh’s 81.48% ranks seventh in the NHL.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 34 points this season, sixth-most in the NHL, Crosby is the top skater for the Penguins. He is among the league leaders with 14 goals (8th) and has added 20 assists. In the net, Jarry (11-3-3) is Pittsburgh’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 2.75 GAA and a .919% save percentage.
Thompson leads the Sabres in scoring with 40 points (8th in the league). He has 21 goals (6th in the league) and 19 assists in 26 games. Craig Anderson (5-4-0) has the best goals against average for Buffalo at 2.87. He has a save percentage of .916%. Comrie (4-7-0) has played the most games in net for the Sabres this season. He has a 3.62 GAA and a .887% save percentage.
HOME AND AWAY
Pittsburgh is pursuing a fifth consecutive win on the road this season. Buffalo is 6-8-1 at KeyBank Center this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
Pittsburgh Penguins (-150)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
