Pittsburgh travels to play Eichel and the Sabres
Pittsburgh Penguins (38-21-6, third in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Buffalo Sabres (29-29-8, sixth in the Atlantic Division)
Buffalo, New York; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Jack Eichel and Buffalo hit the ice against Pittsburgh. Eichel ranks 10th in the league with 77 points, scoring 35 goals and recording 42 assists.
The Sabres are 17-16-5 in Eastern Conference games. Buffalo has converted on 19.4% of power-play opportunities, scoring 36 power-play goals.
The Penguins are 18-14-4 in conference matchups. Pittsburgh has given up 32 power-play goals, killing 82.1% of opponent chances.
Buffalo knocked off Pittsburgh 5-2 in the last meeting between these teams on Feb. 22. Eichel scored two goals for the Sabres in the win and Evgeni Malkin scored two goals for the Penguins in the loss.
TOP PERFORMERS: Eichel leads the Sabres with 35 goals, adding 42 assists and totaling 77 points. Kyle Okposo has four goals and three assists over the last 10 games for Buffalo.
Malkin leads the Penguins with 46 total assists and has recorded 67 points. Sidney Crosby has totaled nine assists over the last 10 games for Pittsburgh.
LAST 10 GAMES: Penguins: 4-6-0, averaging 2.9 goals, 4.9 assists, 3.7 penalties and 7.9 penalty minutes while allowing three goals per game with a .892 save percentage.
Sabres: 5-5-0, averaging three goals, 5.2 assists, two penalties and four penalty minutes while giving up 2.9 goals per game with a .908 save percentage.
INJURIES: Sabres: None listed.
Penguins: Dominik Simon: out (upper body), Zachary Aston-Reese: out (lower body), Brandon Tanev: day to day (illness).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.