Pittsburgh hands Buffalo its season-high 6th straight defeat.
By Heather Engel / NHL.com Correspondent
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Casey DeSmith made 26 saves for the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 5-0 win against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Thursday.
Patric Hornqvist scored twice for the Penguins (39-23-9), who remained two points behind the New York Islanders for second place in the Metropolitan Division.
Carter Hutton made 20 saves for Buffalo (30-31-9), which was shut out for the third game in a row and lost a season-high sixth straight game.
Phil Kessel received a cross-ice pass from Sidney Crosby in the bottom of the right circle to give Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead on the power play at 6:40 of the second period.
Brian Dumoulin made it 2-0 at 15:07 after Evgeni Malkin circled the zone and passed to the defenseman in the high slot.
The power play scored a second time to extend the lead to 3-0. Kessel’s pass hit Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen and Hornqvist got to the loose puck at the top of the crease to score with a backhand at 17:08.
Nick Bjugstad’s shot from the right circle made it 4-0 at 10:07 of the third period, and Hornqvist pushed it to 5-0 when he deflected Zach Trotman’s point shot at 18:02.
DeSmith was starting for the first time since Feb. 21; it was his third shutout of the season.
The Islanders defeated the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 on Thursday.
Buffalo captain Jack Eichel sat out the game for the second of his 2-game suspension.