Penguins never catch up as Sabres rule, 6-2
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Sabres' Ryan Miller watches teammate Paul Gaustad battle for the puck with Evgeni Malkin during the second period in Buffalo.
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BUFFALO -- The Penguins fell behind early and stayed there all afternoon in a 6-2 loss to Buffalo at the First Niagara Center today.
The loss dropped the Penguins' record to 33-21-5.
Jason Pominville punched a rebound past Penguins goalie Brent Johnson from the right side of the crease to give the Sabres a 1-0 lead 52 seconds into the game.
Derek Roy of Buffalo made it 2-0 at 4:16 when he shoveled a backhander by Johnson from near the left dot.
Paul Gaustad put the Sabres up, 3-0, and drove Johnson from the game at 2:52 of the second, as he flipped in a shot from the right side of the crease.
That goal prompted Penguins coach Dan Bylsma to replace Johnson with Marc-Andre Fleury.
The Penguins sliced Buffalo's lead to 3-1 when Deryk Engelland scored his third of the season on a slap shot from the left point at 3:39, and Fleury stopped Patrick Kaleta on a penalty shot at 10:51 to keep the Penguins within two.
Jordan Staal made it 3-2 at 5:05 of the third with his 19th of the season, but Drew Stafford (6:10) and Roy (8:32) put pucks past Fleury to put the game out of reach.
Tyler Ennis punctuated the Sabres' victory by scoring on a backhander at 16:43.
The Penguins are off until Tuesday, when the New York Rangers will visit Consol Energy Center at 7:38 p.m.
First Published February 19, 2012 3:05 pm
