Jarry makes 34 saves, Penguins blank Sabres

BUFFALO -- Tristan Jarry made 34 saves for his first NHL shutout, a 4-0 victory for the Pittsburgh Penguins against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Friday.
It was the rookie's first start since No. 1 goalie Matt Murray was injured Monday in the second period of a 5-4 overtime win against the Philadelphia Flyers.
"I think it's something that I'll be able to look back on hopefully in a while and be able to realize that it happened and it'll be a nice memory to have," Jarry said.

WATCH: [All Penguins vs. Sabres highlights]
Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist, and Tom Kuhnhackl scored on a penalty shot for the Penguins (14-10-3), who have won three games in a row.
"When you get up a few goals like that early, those games can be challenging," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "We talked about in between periods just making sure that we don't exhale, that we continue to try and work to get the next goal and play hard and play the right way, and for the most part, I think we did a good job."

The Sabres (6-16-4) have been shut out three straight games and lost 10 of their past 11.
"Our coaching staff comes up with a game plan, and I just don't think we're executing our game plan," Buffalo coach Phil Housley said. "We're playing a backup goaltender. I think we didn't take advantage of that tonight. We came close, but you can't give a good team like that two goals to start the game."
After Kuhnhackl gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead at 3:23 of the first period, Crosby scored unassisted at 6:38 to make it 2-0 after he intercepted defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen's pass across the slot and beat goalie Robin Lehner.
Crosby, who had an assist on Patric Hornqvist's goal at 19:20 of the second period that made it 4-0, has five goals and six assists during a five-game point streak.
"When it's going like this, you try to keep shooting the puck and just try to be instinctive," Crosby said. "That's one of those things where I think as a team we're going, as a line I think every line's going out there and contributing. We're just trying to do our part, and if we just think about that, then we'll make things happen."

Jake Guentzel made it 3-0 with a wraparound goal at 18:05 of the first. He skated up the left wing after receiving a pass from Evgeni Malkin, went around the net and stuffed the puck inside the right post before Lehner could get over.
Malkin returned to the lineup for the first of the home-and-home set with the Sabres after he missed the previous four games with an upper-body injury.
Buffalo has not scored since Kyle Okposo's empty-net goal with 51 seconds left in a 3-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers last Saturday, a span of 180:51.
"There's really no explanation," Lehner said. "This is very mentally tough right now. There's not an excuse, there is no excuse, for where we're at and how things are going, but it's the reality right now, and somehow we have to deal with it."

Goal of the game

Crosby's goal at 6:38 of the first period.

Save of the game

Jarry stopping Sam Reinhart's backhand at 12:29 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Kuhnhackl's penalty-shot goal at 3:23 of the first period.

They said it

"I think that's the guy that has led this team to two Stanley Cups back to back. He's an elite player, he plays at both ends of the rink, and we've seen Sid's game coming here for three or four weeks now. Now the puck's starting to go in the net for him, but certainly he's playing hard, he's playing the game at both ends of the rink, and when he does that, he's hard to handle."-- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan on Sidney Crosby
"I think the message has been great. I think what's drawn up or what we're told to do, there's nothing wrong with that. It's up to us in here; it's only up to us. Last year, it was only up to us, the year before it was up to us too. It's each and every one in here doing what we're told on a consistent basis. We let in goals when we're not doing what we're told. We're not scoring goals; we're not doing what we're told. It's as simple as that." -- Sabres goalie Robin Lehner

Need to know

Crosby has 32 points (12 goals, 20 assists) in 20 games in Buffalo. … Sabres defenseman Zach Bogosian played 20:48 in his season debut. He missed the first 25 games after sustaining a lower-body injury Sept. 29 in a preseason game.

What's next

Penguins: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, ATTSN-PT, MSG-B, NHL.TV)
Sabres:At the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, ATTSN-PT, MSG-B, NHL.TV)