PITTSBURGH — Last month, the Penguins acquired Jeff Carter, a two-time Cup-winner, in the hopes that he would bury big goals as they made a push toward another title.
They probably didn’t have Thursday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, a last-place team playing out the string late in the regular season, in mind. But Carter’s four goals in a 8-4 win at PPG Paints Arena could benefit them down the road.
The victory pulled the Penguins two points ahead of the Washington Capitals in the standings. However, the Capitals have played two fewer games and have the inside track to securing the East Division title and the perks that come with it.
Coach Mike Sullivan in recent days hasn’t been shy about saying the Penguins want first place and home-ice advantage in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
“I think that would be great for our team,” Sullivan said after the morning skate. “But, also, we want to … build our game. We feel good about our game going into the playoffs. And that’s a tangible goal. It boils down to commitment and details. We’ve just got to make sure that we put the right game on the ice.”
In that sense, Thursday’s score was a bit misleading. They actually played a sound game. And we’ll touch on that shortly. First, how about that Carter guy?
Drake Caggiula sneaked a stoppable shot past Tristan Jarry on the short side 2:45 into the game to give the Sabres an early edge. But Carter popped in a pair midway through the first period to put the Penguins up, 2-1, after the first.
On his first goal, linemate Jared McCann sent a pass across to Carter on a 2-on-1. Sabres goalie Michael Houser got a chunk of Carter’s shot and Rasmus Ristolainen tried to keep it from trickling in. But moments later, play was stopped because a video review had determined that the puck made it across the line.
Carter whacked in another on the power play less than two minutes later.
Carter, after the Sabres tied it early in the second period with a goal on the rush from Tage Thompson, buried a rebound for his first Penguins hat trick.
The crowd at PPG Paints Arena was slow to react to the feat. For a few seconds only one lonely hat lay on the ice. It was eventually joined by several others. Considering the rink is still operating at 25% capacity, we will give the people a pass.
The Penguins and Sabres continued to trade goals, in part because neither goalie was particularly sharp. After Caggiula got his second of the night, Brian Dumoulin swished a long-range slapper then McCann scored to make it a 5-3 game.
At that point, Houser had allowed five goals in 16 shots at PPG Paints Arena, a place he once frequented as a fan. He spent part of his childhood in Wexford and played youth hockey for the Pittsburgh Hornets and North Pittsburgh Wildcats.
Still, that Houser was between the pipes Thursday is still a tremendous story.
The 28-year-old had spent much of his career in the ECHL before the Sabres lost several goalies to injury and turned to Houser. He won his NHL debut Monday and again the next night, posting a .940 save percentage in his first two starts.
In the third period, Carter beat Houser with a beautiful backhand for his fourth goal of the night. It’s the first time in his career he lit the lamp that many times.
After Thursday’s explosion, the 36-year-old has eight goals in 13 games with the Penguins, who acquired him in an April 12 trade with the Los Angeles Kings.
His linemates, McCann and Freddy Gaudreau, each tallied three points.
Sidney Crosby and Kasperi Kapanen also scored during the third period.
Before the game, the Penguins talked about the need to resist the temptation to trade chances with a Sabres team with nothing left to lose at this point.
“I don’t want to say it because Sully says it all the time, but they play with a free spirit. That’s something he says a lot,” Zach Aston-Reese said. “It’s going to be important that we just play the right way. We can’t get into a track meet.”
The Penguins kept the Sabres in the starting blocks most of the night. They gave up just two chances off the rush and four shots from the slot through two period.
The Penguins have won eight of their last 10 since the April 18 loss in Buffalo.
They conclude the regular season Saturday against the Sabres at PPG Paints Arena. The plan is to win that one then wait and see how the standings shake out.
“I think it’s important,” Aston-Reese said. “I don’t really know how things are going to shake out. So we’ve got to control what we can control. And that’s getting these two games and giving ourselves the best chance to stay in first place.”
