National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Buffalo 6, Pittsburgh 2
When: 12:30 PM ET, Sunday, February 19, 2012
Where: First Niagara Center, Buffalo, New York
Referees: Kevin Pollock, Dan O'Rourke
Linesmen: Brian Murphy, Mark Shewchyk
Attendance: 18690

SABRES 6, PENGUINS 2: Derek Roy had two goals and an assist and host Buffalo routed Pittsburgh to snap its four-game losing streak.

Sabres captain Jason Pominville scored in the opening minute of the game and added a pair of assists as Buffalo beat the Penguins for only the second time in the last nine meetings.

Ryan Miller turned aside 24 shots, including a clean breakaway by the league's leading scorer, Evgeni Malkin, to end a five-game drought (0-4-1) against Pittsburgh.

Roy also had a shorthanded tally in his first three-point game since Nov. 11 and Christian Ehrhoff collected three assists to prevent Buffalo from losing four straight at home for the first time since Feb. 20, 2011.

Paul Gaustad, Drew Stafford and Tyler Ennis also scored for the Sabres, who bolted to a 3-0 lead and chased Penguins backup goaltender Brent Johnson at the three-minute mark of the second period.

Deryk Engelland and Jordan Staal scored for the Penguins, who surrendered six goals in a game for the first time since Dec. 16.

Buffalo got off to a fast start when Pominville netted his sixth goal in seven games by lifting a rebound past Johnson 52 seconds into the contest and Roy doubled the lead 3 1/2 minutes later.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Pittsburgh LW James Neal signed a six-year, $30 million contract extension that was announced Sunday morning. Neal scored his 30th goal Saturday - a career best - and established a career high with 56 points. ... During pregame warmups, a light from the arena ceiling crashed to the ice near Buffalo's blue line. After the glass was cleaned up, the Sabres got an extra five minutes to warm up. ... Malkin failed to score for the third straight game, his longest drought since the final five games in December.
Top Game Performances
 
Pittsburgh   Buffalo
Deryk Engelland 1 Points Derek Roy 3
Deryk Engelland 1 Goals Derek Roy 2
Evgeni Malkin 1 Assists Christian Ehrhoff 3
Jordan Staal 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals Derek Roy 1
Marc-Andre Fleury .750 Save Percentage Ryan Miller .923
Marc-Andre Fleury 9 Saves Ryan Miller 24
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Pittsburgh 26 2 1-4 5-5 14 25
Buffalo 24 6 0-5 3-4 12 29
Upcoming Games
  • Buffalo will play their next game at home against NY Islanders. The Sabres have a W/L % of .375 after a win and .457 after a loss.
  • Pittsburgh will play their next game at home against NY Rangers. The Penguins have a W/L % of .576 after a win and .538 after a loss.