Pittsburgh Penguins win goaltenders' duel over the Buffalo Sabres
It was a low scoring affair when the Buffalo Sabres hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday 24 November as Marc-Andre Fleury outduelled Jhonas Enroth to lead the Penguins to a 1-0 victory.
How it happened
The Penguins scored the only goal of the game midway through the first period when some sloppy play by the Buffalo Sabres in their own end created a chance for Sidney Crosby to control the puck in the
corner. Crosby played a perfect pass out in front for Pascal Dupuis who snapped home his sixth of the season. Dupuis had been left all alone out in front as many Sabres were retreating back into their own zone after being unable to clear the puck.
Fleury was perfect on the day stopping all 30 shots that he faced as the Sabres outshot the Penguins 22-14 over the final two periods. In a losing effort, Enroth, Buffalo's number two, was solid in stopping
28 of 29 shots. The Penguins' strong first period which saw them outshoot the Sabres 15-8 proved to be enough to get the win.
What they're saying
For Fleury, the win was his first shutout of the season, and 17th of his career, which obviously left the Penguins netminder feeling good. "It's a lot more fun, definitely," he said. "Everybody's been
contributing. When you win, nothing else matters."
Although the Sabres outshot the Penguins, head coach Lindy Ruff was most disappointed about the opportunities his team had which they failed to put on net. "In a game like that, you can't miss the net
on some of those good chances," he said. "You can't miss the net on the power play when you're dead in the slot. Those are ones you're going to have to convert if you're going to win hockey games."
Ruff also credited Crosby's ability to work hard down low in helping the Penguins get their only goal in an effort to also deflect the blame away from Enroth and defenceman Luke Adam who gave up the puck
on the play. "Crosby is good at picking pockets," Ruff said. "He's a guy that will look for takeaways. He got one and he made a nice play."
For the Penguins, the win was their fourth in a row as they continue to inch closer to top spot in the Atlantic Division. They get set to host the Ottawa Senators on Friday 26 November.
The Sabres are still in last place in the Northeast Division and have now lost three of their last four games. They play the Toronto Maple Leafs at home on Friday night.
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