East Division Update - March 24th

There was just one game in the division today, which took place in Pittsburgh between the Buffalo Sabers and the Pittsburgh Penguins. This game was as expected, and my short analysis follows below.

(Image Credit: ESPN)

BUFFALO @ PITTSBURGH

The Penguins hosted the Sabers at home for the first of two games in two nights. Pittsburgh was coming off a stretch against New Jersey in which they would've liked to get more points, winning just 1/3 of those games. The Sabers had lost 14 straight coming in and were just trying to break that streak at this point. The Penguins dominated the majority of the game and cruised to a 5-2 victory. The Sabers gave up 42 shots against and didn't play with enough urgency for long enough portions of this game. The Penguins outshot Buffalo 42-28, dominating the offensive zone pressure, and scoring a goal shorthanded. Tristan Jarry made 26 saves on 28 shots and turned away good plays by Buffalo when they had their few offensive zone possessions. The Sabers got one of their two goals on the penalty shot in the third period due to a weak call against Pittsburgh defenseman Mike Matheson for hooking. Sidney Crosby also added a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh, keeping up his hot streak while Evegeni Malkin recovers from his injury. The win positions the Penguins 6 points ahead of Boston for third place in the East division.

Scoring:

Sabers: Rasmus Dahlin (2), VIctor Olofsson (9-PS).

Penguins: Evan Rodrigues (3), Kris Letang (6), John Marino (2), Zach Aston-Reese (7-SHG), Sidney Crosby (13).

Standings Update After Tonight:

1. Islanders

2. Capitals

3. Penguins

4. Bruins

5. Flyers

6. Rangers

7. Devils

8. Sabers