By any measure — be it by record, eye test or even a graduated cylinder — the Buffalo Sabres are the worst team in the NHL.
They’ve held that designation a handful of times over the past decade, having not qualified for the postseason since 2011.
That said, they know better than to overlook an underwhelming opponent.
“If you don’t bring your A-game, if you play sloppy, any team in the league can hurt you,” Penguins defenseman Kris Letang said via video conference. “Even if right now their record is not indicating them doing well, they’re still going to bring a good effort. They have skill. They have speed. Sometimes, when you go out there and you have nothing to lose, that’s when you’re the most dangerous.
“We can’t go out there thinking about their record. We have to think about focusing on our game and playing the right way.”
It wasn’t easy, but the Penguins found the right way Saturday as they defeated the Sabres, 3-0, at KeyBank Center to extend their winning streak to a season-best five games.
They also recorded their first shutout of the season.
Goaltender Casey DeSmith made 24 saves to improve his record to 6-2-0. It was the fifth shutout of his career and first in nearly two years (his last coming in a 5-0 road win, also against the Sabres, on March 14, 2019).
But it took a while to gain a lead. In fact, at 36 minutes and 37 seconds, it the furthest into any Penguins game this season before a goal was scored for either side.
“You’ve got to be able to play in these kinds of games,” forward Jake Guentzel said. “These low-scoring games, you’ve got to be patient and not be high-risk. It’s good to find different ways to win. It’s nice to know we can be low-scoring and defend hard.”
Their opening goal came from a usual source in Guentzel at 16:37 of the second period.
After a faceoff win in the Sabres left circle by Penguins forward Sidney Crosby, Letang settled the puck at the left point and made his way to center point. From there, Letang fed a pass to forward Evgeni Malkin in the left circle. Surveying the offensive zone, Malkin snapped a pass to the front of the crease, where Guentzel redirected the puck on net. Goaltender Carter Hutton made the initial save, but on the ensuing rebound, Guentzel was able to jab the puck out of mid-air past Hutton’s blocker for his 10th goal, becoming the first member of the Penguins to reach double digits in goals this season.
Guentzel extended a goal-scoring streak to three games.
“He just finds the ice where opportunity presents itself for him,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s got a knack to find the back of the net. He’s a goal scorer. There’s no other way to describe his game. He can be opportunistic. He doesn’t need a lot of chances to bury pucks. When he gets them, usually some of them end up in the back of the net.”
Empty-net goals in the third period by Crosby, his 10th at 19:07, and forward Mark Jankowski, his second at 19:44, capped the scoring.
The Sabres aren’t the most difficult opponent the Penguins will face this season. In fact, just about every other opponent will be superior, starting with two home contests against the stout Boston Bruins on Monday and Tuesday.
The Penguins head into those games with a rare winning streak and quite a bit of confidence, no matter the foe.
“We’ve been playing the hockey we wanted,” Guentzel said. “It’s been a full 60 minutes. It’s been simple. Just getting pucks in and not being too high risk. We’ve just got to stick to that.”
Seth Rorabaugh is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Seth by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .
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