Penguins get past Sabres in OT, extend winning streak to six

PITTSBURGH -- Jeff Carter scored 2:53 into overtime to help the Pittsburgh Penguins extend their winning streak to six games with a 3-2 victory against the Buffalo Sabres at PPG Paints Arena on Friday.

Carter redirected a pass from Kris Letang through the five-hole of Malcolm Subban after Buffalo came back after trailing by two goals.
"Give them credit. They don't go away," Carter said. "I thought we had a really strong first period. We had a lot of opportunities to put the puck in the net. Their goalie was really good. They hung around. Like I said, they don't go away. They play right to the end."
Evan Rodrigues scored his NHL career-high 10th goal of the season, and Tristan Jarry made 19 saves for the Penguins (16-8-5), who are 11-2-1 in their past 14 games.
Rasmus Dahlin scored a tying goal late in the third period, and Subban made an NHL career-high 45 saves for the Sabres (10-15-5), who had won two straight following an 0-5-2 stretch.
"Great performance. Gut check by our guys, and a battle for teammates, for the team," Buffalo coach Don Granato said. "[Subban] was great in net. Big players step up. [Subban] stepped up early for us. It gave us that opportunity to keep pushing through the game. Let's face it, we get in here at 3 a.m. last night (after a 3-2 shootout win against the Minnesota Wild), you're not going to be able to match the energy of the other team.
"So you have to find a way. I thought our guys battled extremely hard to stay in the game and give themselves a chance to win a game."

Buffalo did not have a shot on goal during a power play after Carter was called for tripping with five seconds left in the third period.
Dahlin tied it 2-2 on the Sabres' third shot of the third, taking a cross-ice pass from Rasmus Asplund for a wrist shot with 5:18 remaining.
Rodrigues gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead at 5:53 of the first period. He took a pass from Letang on a power play for a snap shot from the right face-off circle.
Rodrigues' previous career high of nine goals came in 74 games with the Sabres in 2018-19.
"It's always nice scoring against your former team," Rodrigues said. "It didn't end the way I wanted it to there. So it's always nice scoring against them. At the same time, just taking this game by game."
Subban robbed Rodrigues on another chance that nearly gave Pittsburgh a two-goal lead at 14:27 of the first. Rodrigues gathered a rebound off a tip from Carter for a wrist shot that went under the blocker, but Subban reached back for a backhand, no-look glove save.
"I honestly didn't even know it happened," Subban said. "I thought someone hit my glove or something. I didn't know it was the puck. I had no idea. ... I didn't know what happened. Then I saw the replay. It was a pretty lucky save."
The Penguins outshot the Sabres 21-5 in the first.
"I thought we were stingy on the entry, and that limited their zone time," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "I thought the guys did a really good job of pressuring in the right areas."

Brock McGinn made it 2-0, dropping to one knee for a wrist shot at 6:45 of the second period.
After Jarry made a pad save on a wraparound by John Hayden at 8:40, Zemgus Girgensons cut it to 2-1 on a wrist shot at 12:35.
Casey Fitzgerald, making his NHL debut, set up Girgensons' goal with a shot that went off Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson in front.
"It was awesome. Come in here, I found out two days ago," Fitzgerald said. "So, it's been a crazy two days. But it was a lot of fun. It was nice to get a point there. Wish we got two, but it was just an awesome experience."
NOTES:Fitzgerald's father, Tom Fitzgerald, is general manager of the New Jersey Devils. He worked eight seasons with the Penguins (2007-15) and was an assistant coach for the 2009 Stanley Cup champions. Tom Fitzgerald scored 329 points (139 goals, 190 assists) in 1,097 games for seven NHL teams. … Rodrigues is playing first-line left wing for Pittsburgh in place of Jake Guentzel, who is week to week with an upper-body injury. He has scored five points (two goals, three assists) in four games since Guentzel was injured. … Penguins forward Brian Boyle did not play after missing practice Thursday with a lower-body injury. He is day to day. … Buffalo defenseman Will Butcher and forward Anders Bjork each did not play with an illness unrelated to COVID-19.