Conklin helps Pens complete season sweep of Sabres

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Game Information

Arena: Mellon Arena Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Referees: EricFurlatt Linesmen: SteveBarton, PierreChampoux

Attendance: 17,132 (101.0% full)

Team Stat Comparison
251	Goals	240
233	Goals Against	212
66	Power Play Goals	77
56	Power Play Goals Allowed	68
9	Shorthanded Goals	6
8	Shorthanded Goals Allowed	10
1004	Penalty Minutes	1179
12	Average Penalty Minutes	14

Scoring Summary
1ST PERIOD			BUF	PIT
3:30		Tyler Kennedy Assists: Pascal Dupuis	0	1
2ND PERIOD			BUF	PIT
6:35		Jeff Taffe Assists: Darryl Sydor, Kris Letang	0	2
18:08		Sergei Gonchar (Power Play) Assists: Ryan Whitney, Petr Sykora	0	3
3RD PERIOD			BUF	PIT
0:56		Petr Sykora (Power Play) Assists: Ryan Malone, Sergei Gonchar	0	4
3:02		Jochen Hecht Assists: Mike Weber, Maxim Afinogenov	1	4
5:11		Daniel Paille (Shorthanded) Assists: Derek Roy, Henrik Tallinder	2	4
8:56		Evgeni Malkin (Power Play) Assists: Darryl Sydor, Tyler Kennedy	2	5
10:03		Chris Minard Assists: Jordan Staal, Ryan Stone	2	6
10:49		Daniel Paille Assists: Steve Bernier	3	6
13:23		Kris Letang Assists: Tyler Kennedy, Pascal Dupuis	3	7

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Unusual enough that the Pittsburgh Penguins scored seven goals without Sidney Crosby. Stranger still, their highest-scoring game all season swung not on all that offense, but a game-changing penalty kill.

Ty Conklin beat Buffalo for the fourth time this season and the Penguins got goals from Evgeni Malkin and rookies during a 7-3 victory over the Sabres on Wednesday night.

Elias Says

Pittsburgh's Ty Conklin, who played five games for Buffalo last season, made 29 saves to lead the Penguins to a 7-3 win over the Sabres. The Penguins won all four games of their season series against Buffalo, with Conklin getting the win in each game and allowing a total of only five goals. Conklin is the first former Buffalo goaltender to beat the Sabres four times in one season.

• Read more Elias Says

Tyler Kennedy scored his first goal in 17 games during a three-point night. Chris Minard netted the first goal of his 10-game NHL career. Malkin put in his 39th of the season as the Penguins improved to 12-6-4 with Crosby out because of an ankle injury.

Crosby, coming off a two-goal effort Sunday against Washington in his third game after missing 21 with a high ankle sprain, had recurring pain during the morning skate. He has missed 22 of the Penguins' last 26 games with the injury but hopes to play Sunday against Philadelphia.

"I think guys feel now that if we do have to play with a shortened lineup, they feel comfortable with what they can do and what they can produce," said Conklin, who was strong in net until Buffalo scored three times in the third.

The Penguins swept the season series 4-0 for the first time since the Sabres joined the NHL in 1970, withstanding a five-minute elbowing penalty on Georges Laraque for injuring defenseman Nathan Paetsch early in the second period.

Paetsch passed the puck from along the goal line in the Buffalo zone moments before Laraque leveled him with a raised elbow. Paetsch lay motionless for several minutes before being assisted to the locker room with a concussion. He is out indefinitely.

Buffalo not only couldn't take advantage of what would have been an extended power play, the Penguins -- leading 1-0 -- had four good short-handed scoring chances before Jeff Taffe scored 9 seconds into Maxim Afinogenov's hooking penalty. Afinogenov's penalty wiped out the final 1:08 of the extended power play and the Penguins went on to score three goals in the period.

"That got the fans into it and I think everyone on the bench really got going after that," forward Ryan Malone said. "We did a great job of killing that (penalty) and controlling that."

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said Laraque should be suspended.

"It was cheap shot," Ruff said. "How is it that not suspendable, taking an elbow to the chin and (being knocked) out cold? Somebody would have to explain to me why it's not."

Petr Sykora, expected to be out because of a back injury, Sergei Gonchar, Kris Letang and Taffe also scored for the Penguins, who moved past idle New Jersey and into the Atlantic Division lead. They also tied idle Montreal for first in the Eastern Conference.

Buffalo, beginning to slide out of the playoff race, is 1-4-2 in its last seven and couldn't gain ground on Philadelphia, which leads by four points for the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference chase. The Flyers lost to the Maple Leafs.

The Sabres scratched five players with injuries, including defensemen Jaroslav Spacek (ribs) and Dmitri Kalinin (shoulder), and Paetsch's injury further depleted them.

Goalie Ryan Miller -- 0-3-1 against Pittsburgh this season -- said the injuries are taking a toll on a team that needs to play with more desperation.

"It comes down to grinding and battling, and a lot of young guys are in new roles," Miller said. "I'm not trying to make excuses, but that's what I think it is. ... What we do we have to lose? We're already on the outside looking in. We're already out of the playoffs."

Game notes
Penguins GM Ray Shero needed seven stitches to close a gash that occurred during an afternoon pickup game. ... Ryan Stone's assist on Minard's goal midway through the third was his first NHL point. ... Buffalo is 1-5-3 in its last nine games against teams ahead of it in the conference. ... The Penguins were 3-of-6 on the power play after having only one goal with a man advantage in six games. ... Pittsburgh scored six goals three times previously this season. ... Malkin's goal was his 93rd point, four fewer than NHL leader Alex Ovechkin of Washington. ... Minard had a team-leading 17 goals at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL). ... Until the third period, Conklin -- who ended last season with Buffalo -- had allowed only two goals in four games against the Sabres, including the 2-1 outdoor game win at Buffalo on Jan. 1.