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Pens visit Sabres aiming for 7th straight win

Nov 8, 2014 - 3:35 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins take aim at a seventh straight victory on Saturday night as they battle the Buffalo Sabres for the second time in a week.

Pittsburgh's current winning streak, its longest since claiming seven straight from Dec. 9-21 of last season, includes a 5-0 win over Buffalo last Saturday. Marc-Andre Fleury made 18 saves in the shutout, Chris Kunitz had two goals and an assist and Evgeni Malkin finished with a goal and two helpers.

Sidney Crosby added three assists to the Penguins' fourth straight victory and 13 in their past 17 against the Sabres.

Jhonas Enroth made 29 saves for the Sabres, who have dropped three in a row and five of six to the Pens at home.

The win for Fleury began an impressive stretch for the netminder, who was coming off a shutout victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 30 and then signed a four-year, $23 million extension on Wednesday.

Fleury, who had gotten the night off in a 4-1 win over Minnesota on Tuesday, returned to the net on Thursday and made 34 saves in a 4-3 shootout win over the Winnipeg Jets. He pushed his personal shutout streak to a career-high 164 minutes and 22 seconds before the Jets got one past him in the opening period.

Malkin was held without a point for the first time in 12 games, but both he and Crosby scored in the shootout. Brandon Sutter had a goal and two assists in regulation, with Steve Downie scoring once and assisting on a tally by Simon Despres.

"I think both teams had their opportunities to win the game at different points," Crosby said. "First period they carried the play, second we did, third and overtime was probably anybody's game. It was a pretty good hockey game, all in all."

Pittsburgh has won the first two of a five-game road trip and Fleury should get the start again on Saturday. He is 16-5-2 with a 2.30 goals against average and .917 save percentage in his career versus Buffalo, with last Saturday's win his third career shutout against the club.

The Sabres wrap a four-game homestand coming off their ninth victory in 11 games. They were bested 3-2 on Friday night by the Edmonton Oilers, with Michal Neuvirth needing to make a season-high 49 saves to keep it close.

Matt Moulson scored his first goal of the season and Drew Stafford also tallied.

"We had a 2-1 lead in this game, but it wasn't enough if we don't compete," said Buffalo head coach Ted Nolan.

Enroth, originally scheduled to start on Friday before Nolan made a switch, could go tonight instead and is 1-4-0 with a 3.12 GAA and .899 save percentage lifetime versus the Penguins.

Neuvirth, who has made three starts in a row, is 2-1-2 with a 2.13 GAA, .926 save percentage and two shutouts versus the Pens.