Eichel's two goals help Sabres top Penguins

PITTSBURGH -- Jack Eichel scored two power-play goals, and Carter Hutton made 41 saves for the Buffalo Sabres in a 5-2 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday.

Jeff Skinner ended his 22-game goal drought for the Sabres (28-25-8), who are 4-1-0 in their past five games. Buffalo is 10 points behind the New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
"Just really pleased with the four lines, six defensemen], goaltending effort," Sabres coach Ralph Krueger said. "All the way through the lineup, everybody contributed today. It's an excellent reaction in a very tough building to react in. We're really pleased with the way the game went."
***[WATCH: [All Sabres vs. Penguins highlights]*
Evgeni Malkin scored two goals, and Tristan Jarry made 21 saves for Pittsburgh (37-17-6), which has been outscored 9-2 in two losses after winning its previous three by a combined 14-4. The Penguins and Washington Capitals, who lost 3-2 at the New Jersey Devils, remained tied for first place in the Metropolitan Division; they play Sunday at Capital One Arena.
"I'm both disappointed and concerned," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "I think we're saying the right things, but our actions have to follow our words. We come out in the first period, we play a high-risk game. You can't win in this league if you play a high-risk game. We were high-risk tonight."

Zemgus Girgensons put the Sabres ahead 1-0 on the second shot of the game, 14 seconds into the first period. Kyle Okposo stopped the puck behind the Penguins net before passing to Girgensons for a wrist shot from the slot.
Sam Reinhart made it 2-0 at 6:48 on a wrist shot past Jarry's blocker after he intercepted a pass by defenseman Kris Letang.

Eichel scored a power-play goal on a wrist shot, extending the lead to 3-0 at 10:51.
Malkin cut it to 3-1 with a wrist shot from the slot at 11:10 of the second period.
Skinner redirected a pass from Marcus Johansson past Jarry to make it 4-1 at 5:39 of the third period. His 12th goal of the season was his first since Dec. 2 against the Devils.
"It's been awhile for me, obviously," the forward said. "Whenever it's been awhile, it's good to get one. So just happy I could contribute to the win."
Eichel scored his second goal at 12:17 during another power play for a 5-1 lead. He is tied for fourth in the NHL with 35 goals and has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) during a seven-game point streak.
"I thought we came out hard," Eichel said. "I thought we had a good start. Penalty kill was good. [Hutton] was stellar. I thought we played really desperate. We got rewarded. That's a really good team. It's a good way to play there. We smothered them, we backpressured. We played a good team game on the road."

Malkin made it 5-2 when he scored with 2:03 remaining.
"We weren't ready," Malkin said. "We haven't played great the last, I think, 10 games. Same mistakes. … We try to play easy. It's not the right way. It's like 20 games left, everyone is trying to fight to the playoffs."

They said it

"If you don't bring your game, it's kind of feast or famine out there. So you have to find a way to battle every night and I thought the guys responded here tonight." -- Sabres goalie Carter Hutton
"You see earlier on in the season how well we played and how well the team played together. So I think it's just getting back to that." -- Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry

Need to know

Sabres forward Michael Frolik had one assist in 14:35 after missing two games with an illness. … Penguins forward Dominik Kahun did not play after using his left leg to block a shot by Toronto Maple Leafs forward Denis Malgin in a 4-0 loss Thursday. He is day to day. … Girgensons' goal was the fastest from the beginning of a game for Buffalo since
Feb. 20, 2015
, when
Matt Moulson
scored 14 seconds into a 3-1 loss to the New York Rangers. … Penguins center Sidney Crosby was held without a point in a second straight game for the first time since returning from core muscle surgery. He has 23 points (seven goals, 16 assists) in his 15 games back. … Malkin's second goal was his 20th of the season. He has scored at least 20 goals in 12 of his 14 NHL seasons, including each of his past seven. The center joined
Mario Lemieux
and Crosby as the only players in Penguins history to score at least 20 goals in 12 seasons.

What's next

Sabres:Host the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; MSG-B, TSN3, NHL.TV)
Penguins: At the Washington Capitals on Sunday (12 p.m. ET; NBC, TVAS)