Roy scores two as Sabres beat Pens

Associated Press

BUFFALO, N.Y.

Sabres forward Derek Roy was still upset with himself after being robbed by Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury’s pad save in the second period.

He didn’t miss on his next opportunity.

Roy redirected Jason Pominville’s centering pass through Fleury’s legs for a short-handed goal as part of Buffalo’s three-goal third period in securing a 6-2 win over the Penguins on Sunday. It was a game in which the Sabres snapped a four-game skid (0-3-1) and Roy finished with two goals and an assist to enjoy his best outing in nearly four months.

“Finishing the chances is obviously key,” said Roy, who was staring at an open side only to have Fleury kick out his left pad in preventing the Sabres from building a 3-1 lead with 7:20 left in the second period.

“He made a nice save. But at the same time, you want to finish that and get up three goals and close the game out,” Roy said. “In the third period, I was really mad and I wanted to go out and score a goal.”

It was a breakout performance for Roy, whose five points (two goals, three assists) in three games matched what he had in his previous 20 (three goals, two assists).

Pominville had a goal and two assists, while Paul Gaustad, Drew Stafford and Tyler Ennis also scored in helping Buffalo (25-27-7) move out of a tie with Carolina for last place in the Eastern Conference.

Deryk Engelland and Jordan Staal scored for the Penguins, who came out flat in failing to build off a 6-4 win at Philadelphia a day earlier.

Backup goalie Brent Johnson’s season-long struggles continued. His record dropped to 3-7-2 after being yanked early into the second period after allowing three goals on 12 shots.

“It was a letdown for our team,” Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. “We knew exactly what team we were playing and what they could do and how they were going to play. We didn’t execute and play that way.”