Penguins Shutout Sabres…and the Beat Goes On

La de da de de. La de da de da.

The Penguins winning beat goes on. In a sort of lazy, shuffling game that seemed to mirror the lyrics of the old Sonny and Cher classic, our boys whitewashed Buffalo, 3-0, last night at KeyBank Center. Our fifth win in a row and sixth in our last seven.

Undermanned and decidedly outgunned with talented centers Jack Eichel and Dylan Cozens on the shelf, the Sabres turned to their secret weapon in goal…Carter Hutton. Kryptonite to our collective Superman, the 35-year-old journeyman entered the contest boasting a 5-1 record against the black and gold with two shutouts and a .940 save percentage.

Hutton did nothing to tarnish his Penguin-killer reputation, stopping 31 of 32 shots for a sterling .969 save percentage.

Fortunately for Sid and Co., Casey DeSmith one-upped him. The Pens’ plucky backup coolly blunted all 24 shots he faced for his fifth career NHL shutout, including a huge, sprawling save on Brandon Montour from point-blank range with just over four minutes remaining and the game still very much up for grabs. Earning “The Mighty Casey” (yes, my stab at a nickname) second-star honors and sending the Sabres reeling to their tenth consecutive loss.

Jake Guentzel provided the Pens with all the offense they needed, batting home a second-chance opportunity on the power play at 16:37 of the second period. The score remained 1-0 until Sidney Crosby split the empty Sabres net with a length-of-the-rink shot (amazing) to take the heat out of a hot kitchen in Mike Lange speak. Mark Jankowski (now there’s a name we haven’t seen on the score sheet in a while) also tallied an empty netter in the waning seconds to run the score to 3-0.

And the beat goes on.

La de da de de. La de da de da.

Puckpourri

The Pens outshot Buffalo, 34-24, and won 51 percent of the draws. The Sabres outhit the black and gold, 24-8, including a game-high seven by one-man wrecking machine Rasmus Ristolainen.

With the primary assist on Guentzel’s tally, Evgeni Malkin extended his point-scoring streak to seven games. Geno’s piled up three goals and 10 points during that span. Linemate Kasperi Kapanen had his three-game point streak snapped.

Almost unnoticed in the wake of Malkin’s resurgence, Crosby has strung together a six-game point streak (three goals, eight points). He has points in eight of his last nine games.

Kris Letang picked up a pair of helpers. He’s presently fifth on the team in scoring with 19 points (including five goals). A driving force behind the Pens’ recent surge, Tanger’s a plus-nine over his past eight games. Following a rocky start, he’s quietly having a season worthy of Norris Trophy consideration.

Chad Ruhwedel replaced John Marino for the second straight game and was his usual dependable self (plus-one). Just my opinion, but there may not be a better seventh defenseman in the league.

The Pens legitimately occupy third place in the MassMutual East with a record of 17-9-1 and 35 points. Good for a three-point bulge over Boston and a six-point edge over the fading Flyers.

Speaking of the Bruins, we square off against them Monday and Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena in a back-to-back set that has huge playoff-picture implications.

Opinyinz

Cody Ceci continues to impress. He’s drawn raves from other sites such as Pittsburgh Hockey Now and Pensburgh. I’ll gladly add PenguinPoop to the list. He logged over 20 minutes of ice time last night and registered three blocks, two shots and a hit.

Even more impressive, he shut down speedy Taylor Hall in a one-on-one encounter. The former MVP failed to get a shot off. Again, kudos to former GM Jim Rutherford for going against the grain and signing Cody to a very affordable deal.

Is it just me, or would Carter Hutton be a great name for an investment firm? “When Carter Hutton talks, people listen.” Yes, I’m being silly. Five-game winning streaks will do that to a guy…