Penguins go for season sweep of improving Sabres

If the Pittsburgh Penguins hope to complete a season sweep of the Buffalo Sabres for the first time since 2017-18, they'll need to play much better than they did in the last game.

The Penguins are set to visit the Sabres on Thursday night in the finale of a three-game road trip.

Pittsburgh (29-33-11, 69 points) lost the opener of the trip, 4-3, in a shootout against the Florida Panthers on Sunday, got the day off on Monday, and then played one of its worst games of the season on Tuesday night in a 6-1 defeat against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"We were working hard, but we were working in the wrong ways," Penguins forward Rickard Rakell said. "We were chasing the game too much, and they're stretching us out and finding the open ice. It's just not good enough."

The Penguins also played without center Evgeni Malkin (upper body), who was a full participant in Tuesday's morning skate, but then was a late scratch before the game.

"He's being evaluated for an upper-body injury," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said after the game.

Sidney Crosby assisted on the only goal against Tampa Bay to give him 79 points on the season. With one more point, he'll be assured to average at least one point a game for a 20th season, breaking Wayne Gretzky's NHL record.

Crosby has 85 points (29 goals, 56 assists) in 61 career games against the Sabres. He had a goal and two assists in a 6-5 overtime win against Buffalo on Oct. 16 and went scoreless in a 5-2 win on Jan. 17.

Reaching that milestone will be memorable, but the Penguins will be more focused on playing better hockey against the Sabres.

"Just got to reset and look at the next game, learn from our mistakes (against the Lightning) and then just restart," Rakell said. "New game for us, new chance for us to prove ourselves."

The Sabres (29-35-6, 64 points) have been playing well lately, especially at home.

They've won four of their past six overall and nine of 11 at home, most recently beating the visiting Ottawa Senators 3-2 on Tuesday.

The victory represented the 600th win for coach Lindy Ruff with the organization. He's just the second coach in NHL history to win at least 600 games with a single franchise.

The 65-year-old is in the first season of his second stint with the Sabres after coaching them from 1997-2013.

"I really wasn't aware of it, but obviously it feels good. Just to get the win (against Ottawa)," Ruff said. "I've been fortunate, a lot of good people around me that have helped throughout the years, and unbelievable fan support here in this building."

Jacob Bernard-Docker is off to a good start with the Sabres in three games since the 24-year-old defenseman was traded with Josh Norris from the Senators to the Sabres in exchange for Dylan Cozens, Dennis Gilbert and a 2026 second-round draft pick.

Bernard-Docker scored against Ottawa to give him three points (one goal, two assists) in three games with Buffalo.

He was quick to credit forwards Tyson Kozak and Peyton Krebs with his goal against his former team.

"They don't cheat the game," Bernard-Docker. "It's impressive how they play."

--Field Level Media