Penguins beat Sabres, 2-1, in shootout

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Marc-Andre Fleury made 31 saves and stopped three more tries in the shootout, and Kris Letang scored the only goal in the tiebreaker in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night.

Chris Kunitz scored in regulation for Pittsburgh. The Penguins (25-10-1) have won five straight and 11 of their last 14.

Fleury preserved the bonus point when he stopped Drew Stafford’s attempt in the final round after Letang scored in the first round.

Jason Pominville scored, and backup Patrick Lalime finished with 23 saves for the Sabres (21-10-3), who’ve lost two of their last three.

The Sabres were without high-scoring left wing Thomas Vanek, who missed the game because of soreness in his midsection. They did receive a boost with the return of tough guy Patrick Kaleta, who missed the Sabres’ win over Toronto on Friday night because of a neck/head injury sustained Wednesday night at Ottawa.

Pittsburgh improved to 6-0 in shootouts this season thanks in large part to Fleury, who has allowed just one goal to 19 shooters.

Pominville opened the scoring with his eighth of the year with 4:55 left in the first period. After Fleury stopped Clarke MacArthur’s shot from the right circle, Pominville deposited the rebound into an open net from the inner edge of the left circle.

Kunitz tied it with his fourth with 39 seconds remaining in the first, deflecting Sidney Crosby’s wrist shot from the left circle.

Notes

Pominville scored for the first time in eight games. ... Pittsburgh didn’t register its first shot until midway through the first period. ... Crosby has six points in his last four games. ... Kunitz scored for the first time since Nov. 5, but also missed 13 games since then because of a lower-body injury. ... Buffalo is 1-2-3 in its last six at home against Pittsburgh.