Game 53 Preview: Sabres Vs. Penguins
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – The Pittsburgh Penguins will be looking to get back to their winning ways when they host the Buffalo Sabres at CONSOL Energy Center tonight.
On Saturday, the Penguins were thoroughly dominated for the better part of 60 minutes by the Dallas Stars.
The Penguins were outshot 28-24 in the game, but the margin was 22-12 in favor of the Stars after two periods of play.
While the final score was 3-0, it could have been much worse if not for Marc-Andre Fleury and his posts.
Simply put, the Dallas Stars played a very solid game and the Penguins were outworked and outplayed.
The good news is that was Saturday. Today, the Penguins are presented with a new challenge in the form of the Buffalo Sabres.
The Sabres (14-29-7) enter tonight's game with the worst record in the NHL. The road has been far from friendly as well. So far this season, the Sabres are just 5-14-3 as the visiting team.
They are 3-4-3 in their last 10 games, but are coming off an impressive 5-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. The win snapped an eight-game winning streak for the Jackets.
In addition to having the worst record in the league, they have also scored the fewest goals (97).
Cody Hodgson leads the team with 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) in just 40 games played this season. Tyler Ennis is second on the team with 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists).
In goal, Ryan Miller is putting up pretty spectacular numbers, despite the team's dismal record. In 35 games, Miller has a 13-19-3 record to go along with a 2.62 GAA and a stellar .926 save percentage.
However, he is 7-11-3 with a 3.26 GAA and an .888 save percentage against the Penguins in his career.
As for Pittsburgh, Sidney Crosby continues to enjoy a healthy lead in the NHL scoring race. Heading into tonight, Crosby's 72 points (27 goals, 45 assists) are eight better than John Tavares.
Crosby has had success against Buffalo in the past with 13 goals and 20 assists in 23 career games.
Fleury also continues to lead the league with 28 wins, but San Jose's Antti Niemi (27) and Tampa Bay's Ben Bishop (26) are hot on his heels.
Against the Sabres, Fleury is 13-5-2 with a 2.57 GAA and a .909 save percentage.
Season Series (Home Teams In Bold)
Oct. 5, 2013 – Sabres 1, Penguins 4
The puck is set to drop at 7:30 p.m. and you can watch the game on Root Sports and the NBC Sports Network.
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