When the injury bug infiltrated the Penguins’ dressing room, it left the team without four of its top eight forwards and one looming question mark.
Where would the club find scoring in a lineup missing so much firepower?
Well, during Wednesday’s 5-2 victory over the lowly Buffalo Sabres, the Penguins manufactured offense from all corners.
A blue line that hadn’t scored since March 7 tallied a pair of goals off the sticks of John Marino and Kris Letang. A bottom-six that had to be reshuffled due to injury and fortified by members of the taxi squad got a key goal from Evan Rodrigues. And the penalty kill, which went through growing pains to start the season, netted a short-handed goal.
Add in a late Sidney Crosby breakaway goal and you’ve got the recipe for a rout.
The Penguins easily dismantled the struggling Sabres, who have now lost 15 games in a row. The only blemish – or maybe bruise – on an otherwise feel-good game for the Penguins came in the second period when Kasperi Kapanen left the game with an apparent lower-body injury.
It was fair to wonder where the Penguins would find the firepower after watching their first three games without Evgeni Malkin. Of the six goals the Penguins scored in the three-game series against the New Jersey Devils, just one of them was off the stick of someone not on the top line.
Zach Aston-Reese was responsible for that goal a few nights back. So maybe it was no coincidence that he earned a promotion into the top six for Wednesday's game. However, it was the skater he replaced, Rodrigues, who opened the scoring.
In the first period, Sam Lafferty carried the puck into the attacking zone on a 2-on-1, with defenseman Cody Ceci joining the rush to turn it into a 3-on-1. Lafferty flicked a saucer pass to Rodrigues on the doorstop.
Rodrigues spent parts of five seasons with the Sabres to start his career. But he eventually fell out of favor with former coach Ralph Krueger and reportedly requested a trade in the middle of last season that ultimately brought him to Pittsburgh. Perhaps it was a bit of revenge for the former Sabre against his old club.
The Penguins extended their lead to 2-0 later in the first period on a broken play. From below the goal line where he’s so dangerous, Crosby zipped a pass in front intended for one of his wingers. Instead, it hit a skate and bounced right to Letang. He buried it for his first goal since March 4.
Just when it looked like the Penguins would coast to an easy win over the NHL’s lowest point-producing team, the Sabres answered back. Off a faceoff win, Rasmus Dahlin's one-timer beat Tristan Jarry to cut the lead to 2-1.
A few tense moments carried into the second period when Buffalo made its strongest push. Then, the shorthanded Penguins lost another member of their top-six. When a clearing attempt was rimmed around the boards, the puck hit Kapanen in the ankle area. He got off the ice and collapsed in the tunnel leading to the dressing room. The speedy winger returned. However, after playing several more shifts, he left the game again late in the third period. This time he was done for good.
Colton Sceviour, who began the game on the fourth line, was promoted to play on the second line. He indirectly helped set up the third Penguins goal by winning a puck battle along the wall. He fed it to Jared McCann, who found Marino at the top of the right circle for a one-timer that stretched the lead to 3-1.
Moments later, the Penguins extended that lead to 4-1 with a short-handed goal. Playing in just his fourth game as a member of the Penguins, center Frederick Gaudreau used the shaft of his stick to knock Taylor Hall’s pass attempt out of mid-air. He deeked Dahlin and raced the puck ahead on a partial breakaway. Rather than shoot, he left the puck for Aston-Reese, who finished it off to reward Gaudreau for his efforts.
If the Sabres had any hope for a comeback, they were quickly dashed in the third. During 4-on-4 action, Jake Guetnzel sprung Croby on a breakaway. Buffalo goalie Dustin Tokarski had no chance, as the wrist shot beat him on the blocker side to make it 5-1.
Victor Olofsson’s penalty-shot goal with just over five minutes left in the game did little more than quiet some of the woo birds and add one more goal to what was a solid night from Jarry. The Penguins netminder stopped 24 of 26 shots to earn the win.
The Penguins have now captured six points in the three games they’ve played against the Sabres, all of them critical in a tight playoff race. They will meet again at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday night for the second half of the back-to-back.
