The Penguins tried to address several glaring personnel needs in the hours leading up to the Feb. 26 trade deadline.

They needed a goal-scorer to play alongside Sidney Crosby and traded for Marian Hossa.

They wanted a veteran defenseman with a physical edge to his game and acquired Hal Gill.

---

Scouting report

• Matchup: Buffalo Sabres at Penguins, 7:38 p.m. today, Mellon Arena.
• TV, radio: FSN Pittsburgh; WXDX-FM (105.9).
• Probable goaltenders: Ty Conklin for Penguins. Ryan Miller for Sabres.
• Penguins: Have won all three previous meetings with Sabres, including 2-0 decision Dec. 29 at Mellon Arena. ... RW Tyler Kennedy does not have goal in past 16 games. ... Power play has scored one goal in past six games after getting at least one in each of previous 13.
• Sabres: Will be playing on road for just sixth time in past 19 games. ... Are 1-4-3 in past eight games against teams ahead of them in Eastern Conference.
• Hidden stat: Penguins have chance to go 4-0 against Buffalo for first time since Sabres entered NHL in 1970.

---

They had an opening for a quality faceoff man and ... well, that one will have to wait until after this season.

But just because they failed to make a move to upgrade their performance on faceoffs doesn't mean there wasn't -- and isn't -- ample room for improvement in that facet of their game.

Fact is, the Penguins are the worst faceoff club in the NHL, controlling just 46.6 percent of their draws as they prepare to face Buffalo at 7:38 p.m. today at Mellon Arena.

Three Penguins who have handled a significant number of faceoffs this season -- Kris Beech, Crosby and Adam Hall -- have won more than half: Beech, who played 20 games with Columbus and Vancouver and four with Pittsburgh, has controlled 52.6 percent, Crosby 51.3 percent and Hall 50.7 percent. Unfortunately for the Penguins, Beech and Hall are recovering from long-term injuries, and Crosby had missed 21 games because of injury.

The decline in success is precipitous after those three: Jeff Taffe has won 45.7 percent, followed by Max Talbot (45.1), Jordan Staal (42.6) and Evgeni Malkin (39.1).

The Penguins' magic number for clinching a playoff spot is down to 15, and could drop significantly by the end of the game. Their playoff berth will be secured when any combination of points they earn and which the Sabres, who are ninth in the conference, fail to earn equals 15. If the Penguins win in regulation tonight, their magic number will be pared to 11.

Penguins coach Michel Therrien has an oft-stated policy of linking performance to playing time, but he does make exceptions. He did it Sunday, when he started goalie Marc-Andre Fleury in Washington even though Fleury was pulled from a 5-2 loss Thursday at Florida after allowing three goals in the first period. And he'll do it again this evening, when Ty Conklin will be in goal against the Sabres, despite Fleury's outstanding 36-save effort in a 4-2 victory against the Capitals. Conklin, who finished last season as a member of the Sabres, is 3-0 against them, with a shutout and goals-against average of 0.65 in 2007-08.

This will be the Penguins' next-to-last Wednesday game of the regular season, and they're probably happy about that. They are 1-6 on Wednesdays, the only day of the week when they have a losing record. ... The Penguins will set a franchise record with their 35th sellout of the season tonight. It will be their 48th consecutive capacity crowd at Mellon Arena, dating to last season.