Penguins’ Sabourin gets second shutout

Pittsburgh won its first game without injured
Sidney Crosby, 2-0.

MONTREAL (AP) — Dany Sabourin made 31 saves for his second shutout, Jeff Taffe scored in the first period, and the Pittsburgh Penguins won their first game without injured Sidney Crosby, 2-0 over the Montreal Canadiens Saturday night.

Sabourin, who got his first career shutout in a 5-0 win in New Jersey on Nov. 5, made his first appearance since Dec. 21 one night after Ty Conklin took his first regulation loss in his 11th straight start.

Pittsburgh’s 3-0 loss Friday to Tampa Bay was particularly costly because Crosby sustained a high ankle sprain that will almost certainly sideline him for next weekend’s All-Star game in Atlanta and may keep him out of action for several weeks.

Crosby didn’t travel with the team and had his sprained and swollen right ankle re-examined Saturday by the team’s medical staff. No prognosis for his return will be made until the swelling subsides.

The Penguins were 0-2-2 in the four previous games Crosby had missed since he began his NHL career at the start of the 2005-06 season.

Taffe scored his second goal of the season 6:14 in when he beat Cristobal Huet on a setup by Penguins enforcer Georges Laraque. Evgeni Malkin put a backhand into an empty net with 12.4 seconds remaining.

Montreal, which returned from a 3-1 road trip, fell to 8-8-5 at home.

Huet stopped 23 shots.

Penguins right wing Colby Armstrong left the game just 14 seconds in with a bruised hip and didn’t return. Armstrong slammed into the boards in the right corner after he was checked by Canadiens defenseman Roman Hamrlik shortly after the opening faceoff.

Laraque took a foolish penalty in the offensive zone 1:55 in when he elbowed Francis Bouillon in the head. He atoned for his transgression soon after, providing Pittsburgh with an offensive spark from an unexpected source.

Laraque was treated like Wayne Gretzky by Canadiens defenders as he was left untouched while he held the puck behind the net. He carried it out the right side and passed to Taffe, who beat Huet 6:14 into the game for what stood up as the winning goal.