Pens Fall To Sabres

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Plenty of work remains for the Buffalo Sabres as they try to claw their way into the playoff picture. Streaking past the suddenly listless Pittsburgh Penguins is a pretty good way to start. Jack Eichel scored twice and Sabres jumped on the Penguins early in a 5-2 victory on Saturday, just their second regulation win over Pittsburgh in the last seven years. Eichel, Zemgus Girgensons and Sam Reinhart all beat Tristan Jarry during an early three-goal outburst and Connor Hutton turned away 41 shots as Buffalo won for the fourth time in five games. Jeff Skinner picked up his first goal since early December with a pretty deflection in the third period and Hutton did the rest, staying calm as Pittsburgh turned up the pressure following its sluggish start. Making the playoffs isn’t much of a concern for the Penguins, who haven’t missed the postseason since 2006. A 14th consecutive trip is all but assured but Pittsburgh looked sluggish in the opening minutes and never recovered. After moving into the top spot in the Metropolitan Division for the first time all season with a win over Toronto on Tuesday, the Penguins have dropped two straight, being outscored 9-2 in the process. Evgeni Malkin picked up his 19th and 20th goals for Pittsburgh and Jarry finished with 21 saves but coach Mike Sullivan admits he’s growing concerned about his team’s play, particularly in the defensive end.