Four Goals (and None Against) Lead to Fourth Straight Victory

Fresh off an undefeated West Coast trip, where the Penguins went 3-0 and swept the California swing for the second time in franchise history, Pittsburgh didn’t let jet lag get the best of them against Buffalo on Saturday night at PPG Paints Arena.

The Penguins rode stiff defense and a few favorable bounces to a 4-0 victory, which extends their winning streak to four games. Pittsburgh is above .500 after a tough start to the season from a results standpoint, where they had lost three in a row and five of six during the month of October.

“Earlier in the year, it felt like we were playing good enough to win more games than we did. But at the same time, we felt like we weren't really where we needed to be,” said Erik Karlsson, who scored twice in the game. “As of late, it feels like it's starting to come together a little bit more, and things are falling into place a little bit easier – and we're getting the results to go with that.”

Tristan Jarry stopped all 35 shots he faced in his return to the lineup. He was forced to sit out Thursday’s matchup with Los Angeles due to swelling in his eye that came from getting hit with a puck after his helmet got slightly dislodged in a collision late in the second period against Anaheim.

"Obviously, I got stitches. It was something I didn't really expect, but my eye closed up, so I couldn't see anything for the last couple of days,” he said. “So it was nice that the swelling finally went down and I was able to play tonight."

Jarry picked up where he left off in that game against the Ducks, where he was credited with the win after making 20 saves through nearly 40 minutes, combining with Magnus Hellberg - serving as the backup with Alex Nedeljkovic on long-term injured reserve - to earn a shutout.

Jarry carried a clean sheet for the full 60 minutes this time to get his league-leading third shutout of the year. Jarry has been tremendous since taking responsibility for Pittsburgh’s loss at home to Anaheim on Oct. 30, saying that the bottom line was that he needed to be better.

“Just working hard. Like I said before, hard work was going to get me out of it, and that was honestly what I've done the last two weeks,” he said. “ I think that's the best thing you could do to show the guys that you're working, you're committed. I think it's been like that for all 23 of us right now. We're all working hard and we're all getting the best out of our games.”

Tonight, Pittsbugh started fast, and as the game went on, they were able to sustain zone time, leading to more opportunities. The opening goal came moments after Pittsburgh quietly squashed a Buffalo power play.

Evgeni Malkin swatted a puck towards the goalmouth from the corner boards. His backhand attempt wasn’t intended to do anything more than create an opportunity in front, but the puck careened off the back of Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and into the goal. Based on his reaction, not even Geno could believe what he had done.

Pittsburgh’s second goal came late in the second period. Drew O’Connor popped out on a breakaway, and snapped a wrist shot on target. Luukkonen got a big piece of it, but the puck stayed on course, giving O’Connor his first goal of the season.

“It’s always nice to get the first one of the year,” O’Connor said. “I think if you go a little while without scoring you start gripping the stick a little bit tighter. I think it can help the other areas of your game too.”

After that, Karlsson’s first of the night came thirty seconds into the final frame with the Penguins on the man-advantage. His shot ricocheted off a Buffalo stick and into the net. He followed that up with an empty netter, and now has a five-game point streak.

“I think we're playing more cohesive hockey together. Guys are starting to find that chemistry that you don't have to think about,” he said. “We’re still early in the journey, and it still feels like we got a lot more to give, which is a nice feeling to have.”

Here’s what Mike Sullivan had to say after the victory.

After how October went, winning in November was the most important thing. But the way you guys are winning, playing with comfort in low-risk games, but also being able to do what you do offensively - how important is that, too? “I think it’s essential. I think we've talked a lot about cutting risk out of our game. It's hard to win consistently in this league if you're a high-risk, high-reward team. There's such an element of chance, so you've got to take care of the puck, and I think it's an important aspect of winning consistently in this league. We're trying to work diligently at that. I think when you look at the group we have, we're wired for offense. That's just part of our DNA. Our tendency is to want to make plays all the time, and I think it's important that we just don't force plays when they're not there. I think the players are doing a great job just trying to stay disciplined in that regard and making sure that we take what the game gives us. I say to them almost daily, ‘we’re capable of creating offense in different ways.’ If the opportunity isn't there off the rush, then we've got to be willing to put pucks behind the defenseman and then create our offense in our own way. We create from below the goal line or below the hash marks and the grind game just as well as we can create off the rush. I just think that has to be part of the fabric of our identity, is just becoming a team that's hard to play against. The biggest thing for me in being hard to play against is cutting some risk so you don't give teams easy offense.”

Have Tristan Jarry and (goalie coach) Andy Chiodo been doing anything different lately? “I don’t think their process has changed at all. I just think it's just trying to reinforce the right habits. I think when Tristan’s at his very best, he reads plays extremely well. He's at the top of the blue paint a lot, and that for me is a real good indication that he's on his game, because he's playing confident, When you look from my vantage point from the bench, when he's on his game you don't see a whole lot of net when you look down at him. That's been the case here in the last couple of starts he's had. He should gain a big boost of confidence from this and continue to work at his game. I thought he was pretty solid. The last start he had he was every bit as solid. He's making timely saves for us each and every night, and that's important to win in this league.”

What did you make of Drew O’Connor’s performance? “I think he’s gotten a lot of looks and hadn’t scored, maybe this one will help him. It'll take a little pressure off. I know all of these guys put pressure on themselves to score goals regardless of where they are in the lineup. OC's one of those guys, but I think he's played really well. He's brought a real consistent effort for us. His speed is noticeable, his size, he leans on people. He's got a long reach; he uses it extremely well, and I think he's been a big part of that line also. I think that line in particular has gotten a lot of looks offensively, and they're starting to score some goals now, which is great for our group. But hopefully, this one will help OC and his confidence.”